I'm Where! book 1
by Black Fire Kitsune666
Summary: A simple boat ride ends in the transportation of a girl from the world she has always known,into a power struggle between the Gods and Unnamed villains. Does it help that she has an uncanny resemblance to our favorite rurouni? Not really!
1. Introduction

**Summery: A simple boat ride ends in the transportation of a girl from the world she has always known and thrown into the Chaos of a Power struggle between the Gods and Unnamed villains. Does it help that she has an uncanny resemblance to our favorite rurouni? Not really!**

**A/N: Here's the second try at this! Let us hope I get it right this time eh? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RK but I do own my own character.**

**Chapter one: **

**"Get your worthless ass out of bed now!," a tall man with graying hair yelled, as he banged on the locked door to his daughter's room. The person in question was face down on the bed, dead to the world. Becoming fed up the man kicked the door hard creating a loud cracking sound, groaning Kit got up, limbs hanging uselessly from her sleepy body. **

**As the banging continued, Kit yelled back, "I'm up! You can stop now!" With the banging taken care of, she simply walked to her closet pulled out a pair of tight Tripp pants with grey stitching. Straps hung criss-crossed behind her legs, and she slid a baggy shirt on that had the words "Heavily Medicated For Your Safety" in white creepy (the font style) lettering. Grabbing her five-subject notebook, she walked out of her room and down the stairs. Her mom had left earlier and dad left as soon as he heard her moving around. Sighing, she stopped in the kitchen to grab an apple before walking out to start the trek to her bus stop, cd player screaming with the music of "Hawthorne Heights" (no own… though I do love the songs to death) this particular morning.**

**Reaching her bus stop with her half-eaten apple, she tossed the core in one of the many garbage cans that lined the street. The bus came shortly after she had tossed her breakfast; walking onto the bus Kit grabbed the first open seat not caring whom she was seated next to. **

**The bus pulled into the parking lot of the two-story high school called Newfield. All the kids rushed off the bus to meet with their friends and share the morning gossip, there were only a select few that did not join the hustle and bustle of the morning. Kit was one of these few, she simply ambled along until she made it to the school cafeteria where she usually met up with her gang of friends. **

**Rachel was sitting against the wall reading her most recent book, Sunshine by Robin McKinley, meanwhile Raymond and Ryan were at each other's throats yelling about something or another. Damian was trying to get them to stop but his attempts proved fruitless seeing as the older boys were just trampling him. Sighing Kit leaned against the wall next to Rachel, "So what're they fighting about today?"**

**Looking up at her from her book Rachel answered, "Which band is better, Metallica or AC/DC."**

**Raising an eyebrow, Kit glanced over at the two battling, "And who's winning?"**

**Damian looked at her from his futile mission of stopping the older boys, "Kit! Come on please help me stop them!" **

**Chuckling, Kit got in-between the two and pushed them apart, "Stop upsetting Damian with your stupid argument." Ryan looked over at the small brown haired boy, his hazel eyes tearing up, and he muttered an apology. Raymond simply crossed his arms and scoffed, that would have been the end of it, if it were not for Kit's next comment, "Besides, you're both wrong, Slipknot is the best." This triggered another argument, only with one more member than the previous one. Damian, throwing up his hands, gave up and went to his first period class. **

**Rachel continued sitting against the wall of the cafeteria reading her book not paying any mind to the bickering threesome. Rachel was an orphan who kept getting shuffled from bad foster home to bad foster home; when she turned 17, Rachel left the most recent hell hole and got two jobs, one at the local library and another at the local supermarket, Rachel is now living in an old abandoned church on the edge of town. A little over a year ago, when Josh came to the school he moved in with Rachel, for reasons he never told. Josh did not speak much of his family or any of his life before he came to live with Rachel. He did not provide any information and no one asked. That was one of the unspoken laws of their friendship, no prying. If someone wants you to know something they will tell you. If they don't, do not force the issue.**

**Raymond's mother and father divorced when he was younger and he had gotten himself mixed up with some bad people. For a while, he was caught up in experimenting with drugs, smoking, fighting; they had almost been ready to send him away to military school. Suddenly he just stopped, sure he has ghosts that tend to come back from that dark time in his life but he does everything in his power not to get involved again. Soon before he had stopped, he had met Kit when she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, she had seen the people Raymond used to hang out with using illegal drugs. Most of them were too high to care about some girl walking by, but some of them were not. They jumped her and after a short one-sided fight they had her pinned to the ground; The guys were just buzzed enough to think they could get away with forcing themselves onto someone. Kit almost got raped that day, neither of them knows why Raymond decided to come by at that time but he did. Moreover, because of him she was able to get away with only a few minor scratches, a few days after that, he severed all ties with those guys and everything associated with them. Kit and Raymond started hanging out with each other more often and eventually formed a "brother-sister" relationship. **

**Damian was an only child and lived with his father, his mother had died giving birth to him. After his wife's death, Damian's father started drinking more often but it wasn't until about three years ago that he started getting wasted every night and often times abused poor Damian, blaming his son for his wife's premature death. No one can figure out where he gets the money for alcohol seeing as how he does not have a job, at least not one his son knows about. More often than not, Damian crashes at someone else's house though he rarely ever stays with Rachel and Josh, claiming that the church scares him at night. We laugh, he blushes then we leave it at that. **

**Lastly, there is Ryan. In all reality Ryan's home life should have made him be a normal teenager. His parents are exceptionally nice, very lenient, and as long as he pulls C's, don't care about grades. There is nothing in his life that would have made him outcast enough to be a part of the group and yet, he is here and has been since middle school. Again, the law of 'No prying' comes into play.**

**The shrill sound of the first period bell rang out most students startled into running to their classes. Kit, Ryan and Raymond continued glaring at each other in a silent argument, "Slipknot is the best!" Kit yelled.**

**"NO! AC/DC beats Slipknot by a long shot!" Ryan shot back.**

**"Metallica makes AC/DC and Slipknot look like little garage bands!" Raymond countered. **

**Slipping into fighting stance Kit smirked, "I know how we can settle this."**

**Mimicking Kit's smirk Raymond's hands clenched into fists, "You both know I'm going to win, and when I do you're going to get henna on your forehead saying 'Ray is our lord and master'" **

**"As if! I can bea-" Ryan was cut off abruptly by Rachel smacking him upside his head with her rather thick hard cover book. **

**Smacking Kit and Ray as well, "Stop it you three. Not only are you scaring the other students, the security guards are just waiting for you to do something to send you to the AP's office." Pushing everyone but Ryan to the door, she ordered the other to get to class.**

**Walking into class late was not a new thing for Kit so no one paid her any mind as she walked to her seat in the back of the classroom, and sat down putting her head on the desk to sleep her two periods of science away. Her teacher did not look pleased but was unable to say much considering Kit got some of the best grades in the class. The rest of the school day went by uneventfully, finally the last bell of the day rang and Kit met her friends at the back gate. They were planning to have a meeting at Rachel's 'house' today. **

**Exchanging greetings and a few pointless comments, the six teens walked away from the school and sat at the bus stop. Rachel, Josh and Damian were sitting quietly on the bench occasionally making small talk while Ryan and Ray were sitting on the ground playing a card game called Egyptian Massacre (has any one else played this game? It is so much fun!). Kit was watching amused at Ryan's inevitable defeat, when two fives were put down, both boys hands went flying to claim it. Ryan's hand got there first but Ray's hand slammed down harder than necessary on Ryan's. **

**Ryan let out a yelp of pain, "You don't have to hit that hard!"**

**Ray simply stared at him innocently, "I'm sorry, sometimes I just don't know my own strength." **

**Ryan turned toward Kit who was sitting next to him putting on a cute innocently hurt face he asked, "Ray Ray gave me a boo boo can you kiss it and make it all better?" Ray growled at the nickname and Kit stared at him warily as he scooted closer to her. **

**Ryan gave her the cutest face he could muster and held his hand out to Kit. Kit's eyes widened and her face turned red, "PERVERT!!!" she screeched slapping away the hand that had managed to make a home for itself on her bottom. Ray joined her when she punched Ryan in the face while Ray kicked him in the stomach. His face was red with anger as he glared heatedly at the lump on the ground known as Ryan. Fuming, Kit kicked him in the side again for good measure before walking onto the bus that had just pulled up to the curb. Grumbling about stupid boys, Kit got on and told the driver, "You can go that guy on the sidewalk was just seeing us to the bus safely" Kit smiled sweetly and took a seat next to Ray giving him a quick hug, "Thank you."**

**Ray blushed lightly and turned his head away muttering, "Perverts aren't allowed to touch my sister." It was so low in volume if Kit had not been listening for it she would have missed it. **

**"Kit that wasn't very nice." Josh reprimanded looking at her in anger, the only thing that threw off the effect was the mirth shining in his eyes. Kit smiled and looked out the window at the houses passing by. **

**The ride lasted about fifteen minutes; they got off about a half a mile from the Church. The five friends got off the bus ignoring the stares they were getting from the other people on the bus. The walk was encased in silence, no one spoke and no one let his or her guard down. **

**The group would have been walking in pairs but since they ditched Ryan, one of the pairs had to be modified, Kit was walking with Damian who was almost clinging to her like a child. Ray was walking with Josh and Rachel who usually paired up with Ryan was walking between Ray and Kit. Even though they did not expect any trouble, it had become habit of them to pair off when walking around unpopulated areas or walking out at night. The pairs had been set so that there is one fighter to each non-fighter. Damian and Josh don't fight at all, Kit and Ray are the two best fighters in the group and Rachel isn't much of a fighter but she can if she needs to, that's why she's paired up with Ryan who is a fighter but not an exceptional one. The groups are meant to balance each other out and protect the safety of the group. **

**When they reached the church they entered through the back entrance and walked into what Rachel and Josh used as their living room. An old couch was situated on the wall and a computer was set up on the desk next to it. Josh walked over to the desk, sat down and started typing and clicking away at things. Rachel went to get sodas for everyone and the remaining three sat on the couch waiting for Josh's report. Josh may not seem it but he is a genius with computers, and with a couple of old cameras, some wiring and a few other gadgets that normal people wouldn't be able to understand, he set up an entire security system. Traps were set throughout the building so no one could get in any other way than the paths monitored by the cameras. Turning around Josh smiled, "All clear!" **

**Rachel came back carrying three sodas giving one to Josh, another to Damian, and the last to Ray. Josh turned his chair so that he was facing the group and Rachel sat on the arm of the chair next to Kit. "Has anyone encountered any problems with other groups as of late?" Rachel asked seriously.**

**Josh shook his head as did Damian, Kit muttered a 'nope,' that left Ray as the only one who had yet to answer. They all turned to him, "Anything happen you want to share Ray?" Kit asked raising an eyebrow. **

** Ray shook his head, but added "I don't think this is any major problem but I noticed someone sneaking around my house a few nights ago, I couldn't get a good look at them so that's all I know." **

**Kit looked thoughtful turning to Ray, "Where did you notice them?" **

**Ray's forehead creased in thought, "Hmm I'm pretty sure it was along the back of my yard."**

**Rachel sensing Kit's train of thought turned to Josh who in turn figured out where this was going, "Yes I can set up a camera for precautionary purposes to see if this is at all significant ." He chirped happily. **

**Taking a swig of his soda Ray grunted approval, glaring at Kit and Damian appraisingly. Noticing the purple bruise peaking out from under Damian's tee shirt he growled, "When did you get that?"**

**Following his gaze Damian lifted up the sleeve of his shirt, "This is from my own clumsiness not from my father." Ray looked at him suspiciously but accepted the answer.**

**"Who's going to take Damian tonight?" Kit asked.**

**Rachel looked up in surprise, "Did you forget that it's your turn Kit?"**

**Kit shook her head, "No but my parents decided to go camping tonight, we leave at around eight. So I can't let him spend the night since no one is going to be there."**

**The group looked surprised, "What do you mean 'decided.' You don't just decide to do something like that, it takes planning," Ray scoffed disbelievingly.**

**Growling, Kit hit him upside the head, "What I mean by decided is that they just decided to tell me last night!"**

**After a short glaring contest between Kit and Ray, they decided to send Damian to Ryan's house for the weekend. Chatting and playing card games the rest of the afternoon, the group was laughing in their own world inside the building. **

**Leaving the church around five o'clock the group had withered to three, Kit and Ray walked with Damian between them. Getting on the bus the trio sat talking about music, TV, and school just normal mundane topics to pass the time. Kit got off at the third stop, "You can take Damian to Ryan's place right? I'll call him and let him know your coming." At Ray's nod she gave them both a quick hug and exited the bus jogging to her house. Knowing she still had to pack for the trip.**

**... Later that night ...**

**Kit stood on the top deck of the ferry that would take her family to Connecticut where the campground was. The night sky was clouded over with thick storm clouds, the wind whipping her flaming hair around her face tugging at the tie holding it together. Kit could not help but feel a little excited, she loved storms, and rough boat rides were exceptionally fun. Thunder clapped overhead and lightning streaked across the sky, the wind picked up more speed as the first drops of rain pelted the unsuspecting boat. Sitting under the awning of the deck she watched the storm a bit longer before deciding to go below deck to avoid being drenched. If there was one thing Kit hated it was getting wet, especially when she did not have a change of clothes immediately handy. **

**In spite of her love for storms, Kit had a premonition that something was going to happen, something bad. Brushing it off as her imagination, she turned to walk to the cabins, allowing her body to sway with the rocking movement of the boat. Suddenly a strong wave smashed against the bow of the boat; unable to keep her balance, Kit fell forward cracking her head on one of the metal benches bolted to the deck.**

**The rain washed away any blood that came from the open wound on her temple, spots danced in front of her vision before spreading out and consuming the whole of her mind.**

**A/N: Well… better? Worse? Criticism always welcome. **


	2. Brain Busting Mornings and Worse Truths

**Disclaimer: I don't own RK but I do own myself, well at least I hope so -looks at lawyer who nods- yay! I do own myself. **

**Chapter Two:**

** "…strange looking human"**

** "Hair much bright…"**

** "Smells better than most…"**

** Kit's face twitched with her waking as her hands groped for her pillow to block out the annoying voices. When her hand touched only grass she sat up rubbing her eyes waiting for her brain to make sense of where she was. Groggily she looked around taking in the multiple shades of green surrounding her; she saw no one other than a few birds around her and was unable to find the source of the voices. A crystal clear stream ran along side the small open space in the forest of trees surrounding her. "Mom? Dad?" she weakly called out, her voice hoarse from sleep. Some odd feet away from her Kit's black and red backpack innocently sat along the bank of the stream, looking no worse for the wear. **

** Lying in the middle of the stream Kit's dull black bike sat, water running over its surface. Removing her black converse and white socks, Kit waded into the water to drag the bike out of the water. Managing to get it to the shore of the stream, she put her shoes and socks back on. Rolling her bike over to a tree, she sat with her backpack next to her and her back against the tree. **_Ok, let's recap. I was on a boat, with my parents, we ran into a storm, I slipped. Considering I can't remember any more that that I am going to assume that I was knocked out. Presently I am in the woods, no sign of a boat or large body of water in sight; aforementioned parents are M.I.A. and its sunny out. How the hell do these two scenarios mix together? What did I miss that connects the two? _**Kit was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't hear the hoof beats of some one that looked semi-like a police officer on horseback coming toward her until it was too late. **

** Kit looked up when she heard the steady hoof beats of a horse, cursing when she saw that some one who looked to her too similar to a cop for her comfort was closing the distance between them. His sights locked on her, "Shit!" Kit hissed slipping her backpack onto her back and jumping onto her bike she started riding in the general direction he came from while still staying far out of his reach. **

"**Boy! Stop where you are!" The man yelled after her, Kit snorted and continued on her way. She heard the hoof beats change pace and come closer to her, not trusting herself not to fall if she looked back she forced herself to go faster. She heard the man's cursing getting softer the farther she went, **_I guess his horse is having issues following me. Even though I know that this little realization is a bit late but… WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING RIDING A HORSE!? Granted I know how to ride and ride regularly you don't ride outside of the barns. It's too dangerous with all the… cars... _**Her thought trailed off as she came upon what she thought was a town. **

** Although the town looked like something out of a history textbook, people hustled and bustled doing their daily jobs, mules and horses pulling carts carrying vendors' goods walked the streets. Women wearing dresses, no; not dresses, they were wearing Kimonos and men wearing haoris and hakamas as they wandered what she thought to be the bazaar. **

** Kit got off her bike and walked it into the town looking every bit a tourist with her head rubber necking trying to look at everything at once. **_There's nothing that I can identify as anything remotely modern, no cars, phones, electrical lines… nothing. What happened to me? Where or more accurately when am I?_** Trying to reign in her curiosity she attempted to school her face into a neutral if not emotionless mask, it would do her no good to attract and unwanted attention to herself. **

** Wandering the Bazaar she tried sorting through everything that had happened up until now logically but that was easier said than done since none of this fell into any category of logic she had ever come across. So she gave up that fruitless endeavor after all about five seconds. **

** ...With the Rurouni Kenshin Group... **

"**Kenshin?" Kaoru screamed at the redhead walking away from her. "Kenshin!" She tried again louder this time. When she was still ignored her anger level rose and she developed a tic on her temple. "Don't you walk away from me when I'm trying to talk to you!" she screamed without any regard to the attention she would attract. **

"**Kaoru-dono? I am right here." Kenshin said from behind her making her jump. **

** Kaoru stared at him blankly then, "What? But… you… there…here- wha??" By the end of her attempt at some form of understandable language she fell down with the classic anime swirly eyes on her face.**

** Sanosuke stood above her and gently tapped her with his foot, "Missy you really shouldn't lay in the middle of the road. Some one could mistake you for the ground and walk on you." **

** Coming out of her daze she got up at once, a light blush covering her cheeks. "Shut up free-loader. I have the right to be confused after I just saw a second Kenshin walking towards the edge of town." Her attempt at saving herself failed to do much, if anything, for her cause.**

"**Buso are you feeling ok? You're acting even more stupid than usual." Yahiko asked hiding genuine concern for his big sister figure.**

** Kaoru let out a exasperated sigh and tried to explain a bit more clearly what she had been saying before, "I'm fine Yahiko. But I really saw some one who looks almost exactly like Kenshin"**

"**Almost exactly?" Kenshin asked curiously.**

** Kaoru nodded, "Yes, they had long red hair tied up in a high tail, grey pants, and a dark blue top with the sleeves cut off near the shoulders. Now that I think on it they were probably younger than Kenshin by quite a bit."**

** A look of realization crossed Kenshin's face and he tried to squash the feelings of hope. **_Just because they look like me does not mean that it is her…. But if it is… how do I approach her? _**He thought with a slight twinge of fear. **

** Dark red hair peaked through the throngs of people and Kaoru yelled, "There they are again!" She took off running after the figure and the others followed her. **

** ...With Kit... **

** Kit's ears perked when she heard the pounding of footsteps coming in her direction. She turned her head to glance behind her and saw a group of people continuously flashing through the crowd, each time getting closer to her current position. Even though the chances of some one chasing after her were slim to none because she had just gotten here and hadn't been here long enough to make any real enemies. Rather than testing her luck which has seemed to fail her lately Kit got on her bike and started riding back to the woods. That would take her to a place where if they were following her she could confront them without an audience. And if they weren't chasing her then they wouldn't follow and she could continue to wander the town trying to figure stuff out, and wallow a bit for prosperity's sake. **

** When she got to the woods and chanced a glance backward Kit saw the group of four people making their way to the woods where she now resided. **_Well, that settles that they're following me and not some one else… _**Kit squinted as she looked at them trying to make out their features, her eyes narrowed in confusion. **_They look familiar… kind of like the characters from Rurouni Kenshin. They must be cosplaying, but those are some pretty damn good costumes. Maybe that's what this is; maybe this whole town is part of some Japanese appreciation thing. That would explain the clothes and some anime fans could have decided to cosplay instead of just wearing the ancient garb like everyone else. _**Satisfied with her conclusion, Kit sat down to wait for the group to get there so she could find out what they want.**

** After a few minutes of waiting the group of cosplayers rounded the curve of the road where Kit sat resting with her eyes closed at the base of a tree. Hearing the approaching footsteps getting louder she opened her eyes lifting her head to look at the group; up close they're costumes looked even more realistic. Leisurely getting up she dusted off her pants and stood at her full height and looked down at almost every single one of them. Only the one dressed as Sanosuke was taller than her. "So… why are you guys following me? Something I can help you with?" She threw the questions out there without aiming them at any particular person. **

** The one dressed as Yahiko answered first, "We want to know who you are and why you look like our friend!" **

** Kit looked down at him and bristled, glaring at the small boy, "Well it's not my fault I look like your friend. I was born this way, I can't help that. As for who I am I hardly see how that is any of your business" When she got bored of the small staring contest she was having with the Yahiko cosplayer she looked back to the group as a whole. "By the way, your costumes are amazing. You look identical to the cast of RK."**

** The Kenshin cosplayer looked confused, "RK?"**

"**You don't know what RK stands for?" Kit asked incredulously. At the unison of 'no's, Kit sighed and continued, "I don't understand how you can like the show enough to dress as the characters but not know the basics. RK, stands for Rurouni Kenshin." They all went rigid, looking confused she asked, "What's wrong with you?"**

"**Did you say Rurouni… Kenshin?" The Kaoru cosplayer asked shocked and disbelieving at the same time.**

** Looking exasperated Kit sighed, "Yes. That is what I said. Now I answered you're questions now will you answer mine? And tell me where I am." **

"**Tokyo, Japan. Where else?" The Sanosuke cosplayer said as if Kit was stupid for asking such a silly question.**

** Kit's eyes widened and in her shock and slight horror, she ignored his condescending tone. **_That can't be right. Maybe he's just still in character…_** "No, really. Where am I?"**

** In unison this time everyone but the Kenshin cosplayer said "Tokyo!"**

_They can't be serious can they? Nothing about this makes sense! What the hell are you supposed to do when you wake up in the middle of a forest and then proceed to find out that you're in another country like a gazillion miles away from where you were when you passed out! … If I can some how end up in Japan from New York then… it isn't impossible for me to be in the reality of the Rurouni Kenshin anime series. Oh, God. What am I saying that doesn't make sense at all._** And yet no matter what Kit told herself a small part of her told her that the impossible was now reality and that it would be a good time to accept it before she hurts herself in her denial. Taking a deep breath to steel herself Kit asked the one question that would give her the straightest answer, and the one that she dreaded hearing the answer to. "Ano… What is the year?"**

"…**It's the 11th year of the Meiji era." The redhead said cautiously, gauging Kit's reaction to the news. Kit's jaw tightened and she started feeling slightly light-headed, her fist clenched so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.**

** Kit turned and moved to her bike and picked up her backpack before picking up her bike and getting ready to walk away, "Please excuse me, I have to blow off some steam." She said tightly, had she spared a glance backward she would have seen that 'Kenshin' looked worried from her voice. **

** Kit walked deeper into the woods and found a small clearing just big enough for her purposes but not much else; it was at most eight feet in diameter. Propping her bike against a tree and dropping her backpack Kit took out her CD player and attached the speakers to it. Seconds later the sounds of Slipknot came out of the speakers, she changed discs and soon Missy Elliot's "Lose Control" blasted out of the speakers. Moving into the center of the clearing she listened to the beat and slowly picked up the rhythm, her mouth soundlessly moved with the words and her hips swayed in time with the music. Soon she started actually moving from her center spot and mimicked some of the moves from the video that she was able to memorize. Kit knew that the group was 'hiding' in the bushes watching her but just couldn't bring herself to give a damn.**

** At the end of the song Kit was panting slightly, she plopped down on the grass where she was standing and called out to them, "You can come out, it's not as though I don't know you're there."**

"**How did you know where we were?" The voice of 'Kenshin' came as the group slowly stood up.**

"**I have good hearing and you weren't exactly being stealthy, besides that even if you were quiet, I have something of a sixth sense that I can usually tell where the people around me are even if I can not see them." As the group made their way into the clearing Kit noticed that the group had grown by one. Another that was taller than her, and dressed far too closely to a cop uniform for comfort. "Damn it" Kit growled low in her throat, backing up to her bike, not feeling any warm fuzzies for anyone that even resembled the police. Reaching into her pouch she pulled out a small can which she slipped into her pocket; then she unstrapped the small metal baseball bat from the body of the bike holding it in her left hand she let it hang there as a silent threat. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't come any closer."**

** The police office, who she just realized looked strikingly similar to Saitou, seemed to realize that the words were more or less directed at him alone, stepping up he responded. "Don't act as though you could stop me kid."**

** Kit's eye twitched in annoyance at the reference to her age, "Don't test me. Trust me a metal bat hitting your body is most likely very painful, especially the place I'll hit you if you call me a kid again. My name is Kit, K-I-T learn it and use it." Her voice managed to stay steady and calm, which considering the situation was a victory in and of itself. **_Come on. Somebody just try to come here, I have plenty of anger for all of you._** "By the way… who the hell are you people?" **

** The redhead stepped slightly closer, sadly not enough to warrant action, and spoke "Who do you think we are?"**

"**How should I know, you're just a bunch of people in costumes. What do you have your names stamped onto your foreheads and I managed to some how miss it?" Kit was half-heartedly glaring at him for asking such a stupid question. **

** Kenshin looked thoughtful then spoke again, "Who do you think we are in costume as? And would you mind telling us a little about what you know about the … umm… characters?"**

** Kit looked at him strangely but slowly spoke, "Completely ignoring the fact that I am not bound by any form of law to answer you I will anyway. Why? I'm not completely sure myself, but whatever this day can't possibly get any weirder." She said as though talking to herself more than the group in front of her, showing just how much the craziness of the day has affected her. "Fine, here goes. The red-haired one is cosplaying as Himura Kenshin AKA Battousai the manslayer turned rurouni; the girl is Kamiya Kaoru, assistant master to the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordsmanship. From what they reveal in the show Kenshin and Kaoru like each other as more than friends but are both in denial, big time." **

** The two in question got a slightly red tinge to their faces and the others laughed quietly. "The tall brown haired one is Sagara Sanosuke previously fighter for hire Zanza jokingly referred to as Rooster Head because of his height. The young boy is dressed as Myoujin Yahiko; he studies under Kaoru but has a tendency to copy Kenshin's techniques therefore mixing the two styles. Which I personally think will turn out quite well once he finishes. And the last member of your group is dressed as Hajime Saitou, a former wolf of Mibu and all around pain in the ass, as well as a living icicle… but that's my own personal opinion not fact." Kit paused to think, "I think that about covers the basics. You satisfied now? Can you answer my question and tell me who you are now?" After her jab at Saitou he had started slowly advancing closer to her, once he passed the imaginary line she had mentally drawn, she quickly reached into her pocket and whipped out the pepper spray. Giving him a quick spray to the face, the 'all-powerful wolf of Mibu' fell down with anime swirly eyes.**

** The sight made Kit smile and laugh silently, that was not true for the others of the group though, everyone with the exception of Kenshin was rolling around on the ground laughing. Yahiko looked up at Kit tears streaming down his face from laughing to hard, "What did -wheeze- you -wheeze- do to him?!" Even before the last words escaped his mouth he was already collapsing in another fit of laughter. **

** Kit still smirking slightly looked up and schooled her face to look innocently neutral which served to send the trio into even more laughter. "What ever do you mean? I merely sprayed him with pepper spray because he invaded my bubble." The group looked puzzled by her use of 'bubble' but one look at Saitou and it really didn't seem all that important. Allowing the group to regain their self-control took a few minutes but once they were done she returned to her previous question. "So can you tell me what I want to know now? I'm getting tired of this talking in circles thing we have going on." She glanced at Saitou, "Though that last one was totally worth it."**

** Sanosuke looked up still smiling, "Well kid, I don't know where you get your information but you already told us who we are so obviously you know. Now just accept it, like a good little girl." **

** ...Kenshin... **

** Kenshin's eyes widened and fear pulsed through his body. **_Oh, no. If this girl is who I think she is, she is not going to take well to being called a kid nor a little girl, that she is not. _

** Kit's head bowed as her fists clenched and unclenched trying to reign in her anger, when her head snapped up Kenshin could have sworn that he saw her eyes flash red, then return to their natural dark green. "I am not a 'kid'! I am 16 years old; call me a kid again and I will kill you." Her voice was deathly still but the seriousness of her threat sounded as loud as a gong. Had this been 11 years ago even the Battousai who has seen horrors and done countless killings would have been cowering in fear of that voice coming from this girl. Kenshin blinked and rubbed his eyes disbelievingly before looking to his comrades but from the looks on their faces they saw it too. **

** Kit seemed to have dark red and orange flames dancing around her body in a circular tornado shaped fashion. Then she just fainted, just like that; the flames still engulfing her body. **_I cannot believe that her powers are finally starting to manifest themselves. _

** Kenshin walked to flaming lump that was Kit and bent down to pick her up, ignoring the screams of his friends for him to stop. Kenshin knew the flames would recognize him as of the same bloodline and not hurt him. Working his arms under her knees and back he picked her up and the flames surrounded him as well. Feeling like a warm protective blanket, "I do not understand, she has changed… that she has…" he said quietly mistakenly assuming that the others were too far away to hear. **

"**Kenshin you know this kid?" Saitou asked as he had regained consciousness in time to hear Kenshin's muttered sentence, "She doesn't seem to know you."**

"**Yes, I know her. She is my little sister, that she is" Kenshin said sadly looking down at the unconscious form in his arms. The group stayed encased in silence during the walk back to the dojo, during said walk the flames around Kit's body had dissipated. Laying her in a spare room they went to the kitchen to await her awakening. **

**A/N: Sorry that is has taken me forever and a day to update. Please enjoy and hopefully chapter three won't take quite as long to get out. holds up a box of pocky here's to hoping! Reviews are appreciated! **


	3. Languages? Bah! Who needs 'em

**Disclaimer: I'll say it again. I do not own anything other than myself and my original characters. So NO SUEING!! **

**A/N: Okay I'm not sure why but seems to despise the 'tab' button and therefore does not allow me to have any spaces before my paragraphs. So if this annoys you, I'm sorry. I swear that it's on the original copy but gets lost somewhere along the way onto the website.**

**Chapter three: **

**Kit's eyes fluttered open and she groggily looked at the wood grain ceiling while her eyes adjusted to the light of the room. This was an annoyingly slow process and during that time she did a mental check of her aches and pains, which matched how she felt from the last time she woke up. Groaning Kit sat up and closed her eyes resting her head in her hands waiting for the room to decide to stop spinning. **_Do I have to wake up feeling like shit every morning? This is getting to be ridiculous. _**Looking up and around her Kit saw the wood walls and floors her eyes narrowed in confusion; **_Wood floors? Since when are there wood floors in any place that I would sleep?_** In an instant the memories from the previous day's strange events came back to her.**_Ah yes. I've gone crazy and somehow ended up in Tokyo, Japan. And even though it pains me to admit it, I think I've somehow been transported to the Rurouni Kenshin world. How? I wish I knew; but that's not really important now. The faster I accept what has happened the faster I can move on and try to figure out a solution._

**Kit looked at the door as she heard footsteps approaching and sure enough the shoji door slid open and Kaoru walked in with a bowl of water and cloth resting on the lip of the bowl. When she saw Kit sitting up, looking alert and fully functional a smile lit up her face and she called out the door, "Kenshin! She's awake!" She scuttled in and sat to Kit's left while the others were trying to get into the room. Yet the doorframe wasn't big enough for all of them to fit through at once. "How are you feeling? You gave us quite a scare fainting like that." **

**Kit sat watching the others somehow manage to fit through the door and sit around her. Kit looked at Kaoru confusion written on her face, "…I'm fine… Why am I here? Why did you bring me here where should I make good on my threats I could easily do it?" Kit asked and even though she herself knew that she wouldn't hurt these people, they didn't know that. And if this really was the Rurouni Kenshin universe they should know better than to blindly trust anyone. **

**"Well, you're Kenshin's li-" Kaoru was cut off by Kenshin's hand over her mouth.**

**Kenshin smiled nervously, "What Kaoru-dono meant was that we could not leave a young woman in the woods unconscious no matter the situation" **

**Kit found this very suspicious and was about to pursue said suspicion but Kaoru must have gotten the unspoken message because she changed the subject before Kit could speak. "So ano, where are you from? Your accent isn't anything I recognize, and your clothes are made of such a strange material."**

**Kit knowing that she was changing the subject on purpose decided to let it go… for now anyway. "Well. If my logic is correct I'm not even from this universe, but in my world –I guess you could call it a world… or would it be reality? - Anyway I'm from America in 2006."**

**Yahiko looked at her as if she was insane, "2006? Are you sure you're feeling okay? It's only 1877. And you were telling us we weren't real back in the woods and now you're telling us that you're from the future? It's not possible."**

**Kit directed a death glare in his direction which made him start to sweat a little, "I really don't appreciate being called a liar when I can prove it."**

**Sanosuke scoffed, "How are you going to prove to us that we aren't real?"**

**"I'm not saying that you aren't real in this reality. I'm saying that you aren't real in my reality and since my stuff is from my reality it should still work on that reality's wavelength… oh my god. What the hell am I saying?" Kit groaned and grabbed her head, "Now my head hurts, this is just too confusing." **

**Kaoru worriedly put her hand on Kit's back rubbing gentle, soothing circles, "Are you okay? Do we need to get the doctor?" the raw concern in her voice gave Kit a warm feeling in her chest. **

**Gathering herself together Kit sat up straight, "Did you guys grab my stuff?"**

**Kenshin nodded, "Yes we did. It is over in that closet, that it is." Kit's face lit up in happiness and she bounced over to the closet and found her backpack laying there. Picking it up, she hugged it to her chest. Going back to the futon she sat back down on it and placing her bag in front of her proceeded to dig around in it. Pulling out a Rurouni Kenshin manga she tossed it to Sanosuke. "I know you won't be able to read it since it's in English but you can look at the pictures and get the basic idea of what's going on." Putting her hand back into her bag she pulled out her black and red laptop. The cover had various band stickers and other stuff on it, Kit's hand froze in midair. **_Wait a minute… if this is the RK world then everyone should be speaking Japanese. How do I understand them? And visa-versa? Last time I checked the show never mentioned anything about any of them knowing English. _

**When Kit hadn't moved for more than five minutes Kenshin started to get worried, "Kit-dono?" When she didn't respond he reached out to touch her shoulder, he had barely touched her when her hand flashed up to catch his wrist not even two centimeters above her shoulder. **

**That woke her up; Kit looked at her hand covering his confusedly. Then quickly she dropped it, "Oh! I'm sorry! I honestly didn't mean to grab your hand like that." Kit blushed a little from her habitual reaction to some one reaching out to her. Her mind was still whirling with the newfound realization that some how they were all speaking the same language. She was unsure of how to approach the subject but decided it had to be done; she had to know whether she was somehow speaking Japanese or they had the hidden talent of speaking English that was never breached in the anime. "Ano… How are we communicating?" At their confused looks she tried to explain the question better, "I don't speak Japanese and if this is indeed Japan then you speak Japanese and I shouldn't be able to understand you and you shouldn't be able to understand me…" **

**Kenshin and Karou looked at Kit in confusion while Sanosuke paused in his flipping through the pages of her RK manga to look up at her briefly and Yahiko looked at her incredulously, "How can that be? You are speaking to us in perfect Japanese right now. You may have a strong accent from your English but other than that your Japanese is flawless," Kaoru stated. **

**Kit looked down at the laptop sitting in her hands, her face troubled, "That can't be. From the anime I watch I've picked up a few words but beyond that I don't know anything. How can I be speaking flawlessly now?" she muttered more to herself than anyone else. Deciding to run a test she flipped open the laptop and pressed the power button. The machine started up with a whirr of the fan, the windows startup music blasted through the built in speakers. Everyone in the room other than Kit jumped at the sound; she glanced up at them and muttered a soft "Sorry" before becoming absorbed in watching her profile load at least that was what she seemed to be doing. In reality she was thinking more about their magically breeched language barrier.**

**The group looked at each other before shrugging and shifting over so that they could see what she was staring so intently at. They stared at the screen in a mixture of fascination and confusion. Suddenly Kit started moving, her hand started moving around the touchpad and the group watched as windows started popping up and closing, then she stopped as Windows Media Player started playing one of her 'Naruto' fan subs. **_Now I know for a fact this is in Japanese if I can understand this then that proves that somehow when I hit my head I somehow managed to randomly learn Japanese… Or does it expand to other languages as well? –Mental slap- No! Not important right now. _

**Swallowing nervously Kit slowly pressed the play button silently praying for the familiar "We are Fighting Dreamers Takami wo mezashite, Fighting Dreamers Narifuri kamawazu, Fighting Dreamers Shinjiru ga mama ni" **_Please let it be normal. Please let it be normal. PLEASE let it be normal. _**"We are Fighting Dreamers aiming high, Fighting Dreamers not caring for our appearance, Fighting Dreamers believing in our way, Ol-" Kit cut it off by closing the window. **_What the hell is happening to me? What else has happened that I am not aware of? Am I going to sprout wings and a tail next? This is becoming ridiculous… _

**"Kit-dono… are you feeling well? You are suddenly very pale, that you are" Kenshin asked worriedly from her side, his hand twitched as though it wanted to reach out to her but he didn't let it. **_Probably from the last time he reached out to me when I was lost in my thoughts. _

**Kit nodded, "Yea, I'm fine. Sorry if I worried you." **

**Yahiko reached out and used one finger to poke the laptop tentatively before asking, "What is this thing? It makes a lot of noise for something so small." **

_Small?_** Kit looked down at her laptop then realized that while in her world her laptop may be considered a bit large, here it was probably the exact opposite. "Uh… This is a computer, it's um… wow. How do you explain something like this? It's sort of like a really smart book, but has the ability to continue learning, and can connect to other computers around the world almost instantaneously. That's about the best I can explain it to you, there's nothing in your world even remotely close to this that I can compare it to." Looking to Sanosuke she almost laughed at the look of shock and disbelief on his face, "I suppose I've proved my point?" she directed the question at him. **

**He looked up and seeing the look of satisfaction on her face he scoffed, "Fine, I believe you. Happy now?" **

**"Well I don't believe you. Talking to people around the world with a book? That's impossible, no matter when you say you're from." Yahiko crossed his arms stubbornly.**

**Kit snickered quietly, "I am not going to get into this with you because even if I explained the mechanics to you, you wouldn't understand a word I was saying. Therefore it would be a pointless waste of time." The computer suddenly made a knocking sound and Kit looked down and was surprised to find an IM window pop up. **_So I get internet here too?_** The group once again looked at the laptop in fascination even Yahiko was leaning closer trying to see. **

**STARTING IM CONVERSATION::**

**WaterWolf86: Hey Kit**

**BlackFireKitsune: -glomp- hey chris**

**WaterWolf86: -ish glomped- lol so sup?**

**BlackFireKitsune: nm just umm… hanging around**

**WaterWolf86: Cool. Same here. Hey you wanna check out that new movie we were talking about last week? I got it out from the library so we can hang at my house on Friday night and pig out on popcorn. **

**BlackFireKitsune: o0o0o0o sounds tempting but sadly I'll have to decline, I'm a bit… pre-occupied for an unknown amount of time at this point. **

**WaterWolf86: oooooo -chanting- SOME ONE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND SOME ONE'S GOT A BOYFRIEND!!! **

**BlackFireKitsune: -red- I DO NOT!!**

**WaterWolf86: -giggles- Kit's got a bf Kit's got a bf. **

**BlackFireKitsune: grrr if you don't stop saying that I'll spam your diary all over the net -evil grin-**

**WaterWolf86: -smug smirk- you don't kno my password so its no use making empty threats.**

**BlackFireKitsune: are you willing to bet on that?**

**WaterWolf86: umm… yes.**

**BlackFireKitsune: Kurama's a$$ is like ir0n**

**WaterWolf86: -BLUSH- h-h-how did you find that out?!!?!?**

**BlackFireKitsune: -looks at nails- my sources are classified**

**WaterWolf86: the only people who know that are me and Ni-**

**WaterWolf86: OMG NICK GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!!!**

**BlackFireKitsune: ummm… I'll be leaving now… later! **

**-----------BlackFireKitsune has signed off----------- **

**End IM Conversation::**

**Kit laughed nervously rubbing the back of her head, "I don't think I'll be signing on for a while…" **

**The others looked at her strangely and Kit realized they couldn't read what was on the screen because it was in English. "What is wrong Kit-dono?" Kenshin asked looking confusedly at the now empty screen. **

**Kit smiled sheepishly, "I just kind of made a friend from home really mad… Like mad enough she might just attack me the next time she sees me. Or maybe I'll get lucky and she'll cool down after killing her brother…" **

**"What did you do to make her so mad?" Kaoru asked worried about what kind of friends she had that she would think they would kill their own family (note: Kit is exaggerating but they are taking her seriously). **

**"Well, I… um, threatened to make it so that everyone in the world with a computer could see her diary because she was annoying me about something, and in the process revealed the fact that her brother cracked and gave me the password to her diary. So… yea… she's kinda pissed at both of us right now."**

**"Well maybe you should not have threatened her. Then she would not have gotten mad, that she would not." Kenshin reprimanded gently, shaking his head. **

**Kit's eyes narrowed slightly, "This is how I am with my friends, there's nothing wrong with it. They all know that I would take a bullet for them without a second thought. And that I'd never hurt any of them intentionally; the reason she's mad is not because I threatened her but because I have information that she would rather I not have. She knows I would never do that especially not over something as stupid and trivial as this" Kit's eyes had taken on a cold sheen at the serious turn in the conversation, and her anger at Kenshin's reprimand. **

**Kaoru sensing the growing icy thickness in the air stood up suddenly, "Okay everyone. Out, out!" She proceeded to push everyone that wasn't moving fast enough out of the room. "Kit, you get dressed and I'll be back to get you in a few minutes."**

**Kit sat watching until everyone was out of the room, sighing in frustration she dug through her bag once again this time pulling out clothes. Standing up she pulled on some baggy black Tripp pants. They had multiple chains hanging from the loops scattered over the pants. Some detachable others fixed. Next she pulled on a black baby doll tee with red stitching and red lettering, "God's busy. Can I help you?" with a picture of a chibi devil underneath. She finger combed her long hair into some semblance of neatness. Lastly she pulled on her knee high steel plated combat boots. Just as she finished zippering the boots Kaoru walked back in and looked at her in something akin to horror. **

**"Oh. I'm sorry I forgot that you're not from this time, wait right here, I'll get you one of my kimonos. It might be a little small but it'll have to do until we get you some of your own clothes." Before Kit could decline Kaoru had whooshed off to get her a dress… Yea that's not happening. **

**Kaoru walked back in a few minutes later with a dark blue kimono peppered with red flower petals in hand. It really was a beautiful kimono, but Kit really wasn't one for dresses unless absolutely necessary. "Ano… that's a beautiful Kimono but I'm perfectly happy with my own clothes." **

**"You cannot possibly go out like that. There are no such clothes here," Kaoru attempted to reason with her but Kit was steadfast in her decision. **

**"I'm not changing."**

**"Yes, you are."**

**"No."**

**"Yes."**

**"No."  
**

**"Yes, you are." Kaoru lunged at Kit, deciding she was tired of arguing resorted to force to get her to wear the Kimono. Before Kaoru had even touched her Kit spun and ducked out of her path and Kaoru's lunge turned into a stumble trying to get her balance back. **

**During the time it took for Kaoru to regain her balance Kit had already stood up and sprinted out the door and down the hallway, Kaoru only caught a glimpse of her when she got to the door frame. Kit was running at a controlled almost full speed run taking mental notes of all the hallways and doors she went by, when she passed Kenshin and the others on the porch of the dojo. She jumped down the steps and while airborne she switched gears and hit the ground running full speed. She was almost to the gate when she somehow managed to miss seeing the wooden bucket in her path. Tripping over the offending object she started to fall face first to the ground, acting purely on instinct her arms came up to shield her head while her body twisted and she landed hard on her shoulder. **

**Kit just laid there gasping for the air that her lungs just didn't want to hold. "Kit-dono!" Kenshin yelled when he saw her fall. Kenshin and the rest of the group quickly made their way to the yard. Deciding she had had enough time to recover Kit stumbled into a standing position and tried to start moving forward again but was restrained by Kenshin who had grabbed hold of her wrist. "You cannot walk around like that Kit-dono, that you cannot." **

**Kit shook her head with a stubborn expression on her face "Let me rephrase my decline. You have a better chance of getting both Saitou _and_ Aoshi into kimonos, than getting me in one. At least under these circumstances, do you understand that?"**

**"Kid, girls don't dress like that around here. Just please the missy and put on the kimono." Sanosuke tried in his own way to reason with her. **

**Getting annoyed at everyone's insistence she looked him up and down and shot back, "Oh really? I thought they did since my clothes are similar to yours." She said this with an innocent expression but the coldness of her eyes told them that the remark was anything but innocent.**

**Before Sanosuke could attack her Kenshin stepped in between the two, "Sano was just trying to help." **

**"I know girls don't dress or act like me in this era… world… universe thing but I'm not from here and I see no harm in me walking around like this, other than a few strange stares its not going to hurt anybody." Kit was glowering now, Kaoru opened her mouth to protest again, but Kit beat her to it. "Ok, fine, how about this," she reached out and grabbed Kenshin's sword before anyone could realize what she was doing, and bent over her long hair falling forward. Grasping her hair in her fist she used the sword and sliced right through the hair above her fist. **

**Standing up straight she slipped Kenshin's sword back into its sheath, calmly she stated, "There, now I'm a boy and there's nothing wrong with how I dress." **

**The whole group looked at Kit in horror Kaoru and Kenshin even more so than Yahiko and Sanosuke, it seemed that even the nearby birds stopped chirping to stare. Running her fingers through her now neck length layered hair nervously, she muttered, "Didn't any one ever tell you it's not polite to stare…" **

**"Yo-you cut your hair o-off!" Kaoru stuttered in horror. **

**Kit looked at her from the corner of her eyes (like this: ¬.¬) "Your Point?" Shrugging she continued, "I've been meaning to cut it for a while, no big deal it's hair it'll grow back" The others were still in a state of semi-shock but slowly they were getting over the shock. Leading the way Kaoru and company walked sort of zombie-like out of the dojo grounds, Kit followed slowly behind everyone. **

**A/N: Yay, chapter three is done. Happy Holidays everyone consider this an early present and have a good time wherever you may be. **

**Reviews aren't necessary but I appreciate knowing how people like my writing and what I can do to make it better, plus it also gives me incentive to write faster. So please drop me a line! Arigato minna-san!!**

**CLICKY PLEASE!!!**

**. I**

**. I**

**.V**


	4. Firey Tranformations

**Disclaimer: I don't own!!! Get over it! **

**A/N: Hey everyone hope you all had a nice holiday! And also in case you're wondering in the last chapter Kit cutting her hair off wasn't supposed to make her look like a guy. It was merely meant to get the group to shut up about her choice of clothing. That's about it so… on with the chapter!**

**Chapter Four:**

**Tae waved at the departing party of five, Kaoru waved back enthusiastically while the others, excluding Kit, called their goodbyes. At some point during their walk to the Akebeko the group had finally accepted what Kit had done to her hair. After their lunch they decided to go wander around the bazaar and pick up what Kenshin would need to make dinner. **

**Kit stopped when her eye caught the glint of the afternoon sun shining off the smooth steel of the swords in one of the booths set up to her left (Yes, I realize that in the anime they said there was a ban on swords but I'm going to interpret that to; you can own them but not carry them around), branching off from the group without even thinking that she didn't know her way around and separating herself wasn't the smartest idea. She wandered over to the booth. Inside the booth to her left were small blades like tantos and shotos, directly in front of her were normal size katanas like daitos and chiisakatana, to her right were a few abnormally large and rare blades called odachi along with small shuriken and metal boned fans. Becoming not unlike a child in a candy store Kit moved about the store noting they also had some bokkens and practice blades. There was one blade that really caught her interest though, it was a small wakizashi with a polished black sheath and the gold painted engravings on it looked like tribal designs carved into the wood. What made her look at this sword more closely than the others was the strange feeling she got when her eyes rolled over it. It felt like her blood turned a few dozen degrees colder and she felt as though there was someone standing behind her watching her, you know that feeling when the hair on the back of your neck is standing on end and goose bumps rise up on your arms? Yea that's the feeling. **

**"Can I help you miss?" Kit nearly jumped into the air when the shopkeeper spoke. Taking a deep breath she composed herself and turned to the man, he had graying black hair down to his mid-back tied up in the customary smithy high horse tail. He was clad in tighter than normal haori and hakamas most likely so that he wouldn't catch fire when near the forge. **

**"Ano… yes, can you tell me about this wakizashi?" Kit asked turning back to the spot where the sword had been sitting. But the strange thing was yes you guessed it, it wasn't there anymore. There was still the slight feeling of being watched but it was fading quickly. Luckily for Kit there was another wakizashi near where the creepy one had been, so she didn't seem like she was crazy to the shopkeeper. **

**He obliged and started telling her the specifications of the sword, and guided her over to one of the tantos whose sheath was shaped like a closed fan, saying that this one would be more suited for her. Kit smiled politely at the shopkeeper silently chanting to herself that he's only trying to help, "Thank you for all your help, sir." Kit bowed slightly and walked out of the booth. **

**Making her way back into the throngs of people she looked around for Kenshin or Sanosuke since they were the easier ones out of the group to pick out of a crowd. Seeing neither she cursed quietly at her stupidity and started walking in the general direction she thought the dojo to be in. **_Damn you A.D.D. You just had to kick in at the sight of the shiny object! You couldn't just let me get through the day without getting lost in a fucking unknown city. I should be back at my laptop where I could do research on this shit but NOOOOOOOO you just had to draw me over to a weapons store and make me lose my guides. _

**Being too into screaming at herself, Kit didn't hear the group of three men come up behind her, nor did she realize that her feet had led her to a deserted road. "Well, well what do we have here? A pretty little girl who's lost her way perhaps? Would you like us to help you little girl? We only want a little company in return. What do you think Goro, will she be good?" The man directed the question to the brown eyed man to his left. Kit sighed exasperated and angry at the same time, **_I really have to stop zoning out into my own head, left alone my body has too much tendency to get me into troublesome situations. _

"**She is certainly different but from the look of her, under those unflattering clothes is a nice body. I cannot wait to see if I'm right. Ne, Shino." It seemed as though he was speaking to the quiet man on the right. **_So let's see, we have Goro and we have Shino but they haven't called the leading guy by name yet. So I'll just call him boss monkey… yes that seems to fit him quite nicely. _

**Kit turned around and looked coldly at boss monkey, he was probably in his late twenties and his two friends were about the same they all had cropped short pin straight black hair as was typical of Asian descent. All wearing loose haoris and hakamas it would be easy for them to possibly hide weapons in the folds of the fabric. Her body tense with caution she spoke watching him closely, "First off don't call me little, asshole, second I'd rather be lost for an eternity in a hell filled with burning lava and Barney than be company to you in any way, shape, or form." Having said her piece Kit turned to walk back toward the crowded street. **

**She didn't need to look behind her to tell he was angry at what she said as well as her blatant dismissing of them, she could feel the change in the atmosphere in the alleyway, it went from a feeling of subtle danger to crackling rage. "Don't walk away from me bitch!" Subconsciously reacting to the familiar feeling of a fight brewing her hands reached down to the clasps of her longest chain ready to use it as a makeshift weapon. **

**As soon as she heard the footsteps coming toward her she whipped her body around and unhooked the chain in one fluid motion, boss monkey had stopped moving when she turned around. He held a small poorly taken care of tanto in his right hand, Kit's head lowered and she glared at him from lowered eyes giving her the ax-murderer look. "Is this your pathetic way of challenging me?" **

"**What challenge could a child like you pose against an adult like me?" He scoffed as though Kit had made a stupid statement by even thinking it. **

**Getting pissed off Kit walked the few feet separating them chain in hand and looked down at him glaring coldly, "Do you really want to test me? If so be my guest." The shorter man glared at her and answered by swinging his knife to cut across Kit's chest, Kit bent backwards to avoid the blade and when she straightened back up monkey boss had his knife poised to thrust it at the left side of her chest where her heart would be. **

**Kit reacted quickly and spun to avoid the thrust and also to put her behind him, "Bad choice." She growled into his ear and wrapped the chain around his neck, cutting off most of his air supply, pivoting him so that she was facing his two 'friends'. The two other men saw the predicament of their friend and had started backing away toward the street; the man that Kit now held reached out as if to call to his comrades but lacked the breath to do so. Goro shook his head at boss monkey's silent plea and both him and Shino turned tail and ran to the street. Kit felt his body tense with surprise that his 'friends' would leave him to 'die'. "Looks like you don't have very good friends now do you?" she sneered. **

**When he didn't react at all to her statement she sighed and let one end of the chain fall and walked away from the man for a second time, **_I really need to get a map or something, this was way to troublesome to do again._**Kit thought reattaching the chain to her pants. **

**Kit was brought back to reality by the feeling of cold steel ripping through the shoulder of her left arm, she let out a quick yelp from shock and pain before using her right arm to grab the wound in a futile attempt to slow the bleeding. Slowly lifting the blood splattered hand to her face she used her tongue to lick some of the tangy metallic liquid from the palm of her hand to the tip of her thumb. The man seemed disgusted by her action but could not bring himself to look away, sort of like when you pass by an accident you can't help but try to look and see if anyone is dead, its that same morbid intrigue that kept this man rooted to his spot in the alleyway. Lifting her head from her hand Kit's eyes were revealed and they were slowly bleeding blood red at the irises and the part of her eye that was supposed to be white was darkening at an alarmingly fast rate turning blacker by the second. **

**Flames started arcing across her skin steadily picking up speed and velocity, becoming more and more like the tornado shape that was created when she was first found by Kaoru and the others. Soon the heat from the flames distorted her image so much that only glimpses of her body could be seen from the outside. Inside the flames however her body was changing and her mind was slowly becoming muddled and slow; her dull nails lengthened into claws and her small human canines sharpened to fang-like points. Her hair grew out to her lower back falling to cover her face while turning few shades darker, the tips continued to darken until they were so dark a red that it seemed almost black. Her round ears migrated up to the top of her head and morphed into red, dark tipped triangular fox ears. Kit threw up her head and let out a hoarse scream as her tail bone lengthened and a bloody tail ripped through the back of her pants, when her hair moved from covering her face facial markings were revealed; the kanji for fire had twin swords crossed through the symbol and vines crawled up and around both images. Her cheeks were slashed with two red stripes that darkened to near black going out toward the edges.**

**The flames receded and only the occasional wisp danced across her body, lowering her head from looking at the sky she smiled at the man still frozen in front of her. There was no mistaking the curve of her mouth to be anything human, the expression was pure predator, Kit was no longer a human girl; the being now wearing her changed skin was a female kitsune youkai through and through. She flexed the claws on her left hand and slowly almost lazily started advancing on the human whom had dared such a cowardly and pride less assault on her. The fear was rolling off him in waves and the scent only fueled her hunger. **

**Kenshin's POV**

**The group was half-way back to the dojo when Kaoru noticed that they were missing a companion. She stopped and started looking back where they had come, "Kenshin, did you see where Kit went?" she asked the red haired male next to her while she continued looking through the streams of people on the street. **

**Kenshin looked at their group and noticed that Kit was indeed missing, he had been so wrapped up in thoughts about how or if he should tell her about their familial connection. "No, I had not noticed that she was missing…" **

**A look of surprise covered her face and she looked to Sanosuke and Yahiko who merely shrugged and shook their heads, "She's your sister who you just found yesterday and you didn't notice that we lost her in the crowd? I would have expected you to be more perceptive than that." Sanosuke said warily. **

**Kenshin merely looked down agreeing with her mentally, "I shall go look for her; you and the others please go back to the dojo without us. We'll be there shortly, that we will." He gave a small forced smile and walked off back into town. **

**Kenshin was pushing his way through the crowds looking either for her red hair or her strange clothes. **_Sanosuke is right, how could I have been so careless and not kept an eye on her. Of all people I should know best how she is oft to wander off on her own and get into trouble, that I should… I hope she hasn't wandered too far. _**He had just passed the weapons booth that Kit had been side-tracked at, remembering her fascination with weapons when they were younger he doubled back and hoped that he was right in guessing that she would stop there. **

**Walking up to the booth Kenshin spotted the smithy talking to a young man about an ivory sheathed daito. "Excuse me sir…" he said to the smithy. **

**The older man turned around with a smile and asked, "Yes? What may I help you with son?" **

**Kenshin looked at the young man who's conversation he had interrupted but he didn't seem to mind so Kenshin proceeded to speak, "Has a girl about 170 centimeters with red hair wearing strange clothing stopped by here today?" **

**The man's face lit up in recognition, "Ah yes! There was some one like that that came by six or so minutes ago. She was an interesting girl seemingly more interested in the larger blades rather than the smaller, fancier looking ones most ladies prefer."**

**Kenshin sighed in obvious relief that his assumption was correct, "Do you know where she went after she left your shop?" **

"**She headed toward the bar district I think." Kenshin bowed his thanks to the man and ran off in the indicated direction. **

**Kenshin hadn't been walking for more than three minutes but time was dragging in the poor rurouni's mind due to worry. **_Please don't let her be hurt._** Kenshin prayed to any god that was willing to listen, not long after he started his prayers he heard a scream come from an alley two streets down from his current position. Thinking the worst he ran towards the sound, imagining the worst possible situations in his mind. And yet nothing his mind could make up would prepare him for what he was about to face.**

**As he turned the corner the sight that greeted him left even a trained assassin speechless, a demon wearing Kit's otherworldly clothing was advancing on a man crying in fear. Something in his gut told him that this was Kit, but his mind refused to believe the feeling. This being wasn't the human girl he knew, this wasn't human; and could never be mistaken for human. He knew he should stop her, if only to spare this mans life but his legs were frozen. Kenshin couldn't move, he couldn't help, he couldn't bring back his little sister. **

**That last thought sent his mind reeling, **_I just got her back! I refuse to lose her again; I won't let you take her from me again… never again! _**Forcing his voice to work he yelled out, "Never again!" The demon stopped and slowly cocked her head to see Kenshin. The demon's hair was covering one of her eyes but when the one red and black eye locked on him. Kenshin's breath left his body and being the focus of this being made him want to run himself through with his own sword, so as to make his death quick. Something, he was sure, this demon would not allow. Forcing himself to overcome the spell the demon's gaze put him under he called out to the human being repressed by this demon, "Kit?." He waited for a response when he didn't get one he called louder, "Kit!" **

**The demon's face flickered in pain and then the illusion disappeared as though it was never there to begin with. An exhausted looking Kit was standing in the middle of the alley; she had barely been standing for more than a few seconds before she started falling to the side, unable to stand and clutching at her still bleeding shoulder with a mask of pain covering her features.**

**Kenshin jerked into action and rushed forward to catch her before Kit hit the ground. She landed safely in his arms and her glazed over eyes focused on his face, "Hi Kenshin… I was looking for you guys." Her speech was slow and slurred and just as she finished the last syllable her body grew limp and relaxed as sleep claimed her.**

**Kenshin couldn't help laughing the hysterical laugh of some one who had just looked death in the face and lived to tell about it. Once under control he got up and rushed to carry her on his back to Megumi's clinic. Kenshin didn't even remember enough to check on the man the demon had been advancing on, which may have been for the best anyway since he had run as soon as the demon looked away. **

**A/N: Chapter four done. Hope you enjoyed please comment they help me keep writing. And I know some of you have to be wondering why no one walked into the alley during that whole thing but the answer is; the demon was using something similar to the Fae glamour in Karen Marie Moning's books. Meaning the demon was giving off a special aura and forces people to instinctually avoid it. Example: let's say you were going to go throw something out in a dumpster in that alley, if the demon was there your mind would give you some reason to not go there like you forgot something important somewhere or something like that. If you still don't get it message me and I'll look it up in the book and tell you how they explained it. Have a nice weekend!! **


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

A/N:

Disclaimer: I don't own so stop bugging me.

Chapter 5:

The sky was near full dark when Megumi exited the treatment room, the lines on her weary face made darker by the soft glow given off by the single candle in the room. Kenshin rushed to meet her, his face creased with worry, "I've stitched up the wound; it should heal within a week or two." She paused seemingly unsure of how to continue, "I… Kenshin… I think there is something you should know…" she paused again.

At her silence Kenshin's worry grew rapidly, "What? Is something wrong? She's going to be okay, ne Megumi-dono?"

Megumi quickly raised her hands to reassure him, "Yes, her life is in no danger from the wound she acquired today." Kenshin visibly relaxed, but the tenseness in his shoulders was still there. "But… that is not what worries me. Kenshin… this girl… she is covered in bruises, cuts and scars…"

Kenshin was genuinely surprised, "How is that possible, with the revealing clothing she wears we would have seen any wounds she had."

Megumi shook her head sadly, "No, the person who made them whether it is this girl herself or someone that knows her, they knew what type of clothing she wears. They kept that in mind when doing this; none of the wounds can be seen from underneath her clothes. They knew her well enough to know what kind of clothing she wears. Kenshin… you should… talk to her about it when she wakes up. I don't know what kind of girl you brought me but, she might need help."

Kenshin nodded silently his mind reeling from this information; Megumi walked by him and paused, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry so much, she's safe here and none of the damage she has is anywhere near life-threatening. It is merely disturbing; I am going to make tea, I'll be back soon."

Kenshin stood in the same spot until Megumi's soft footsteps faded into the back of the clinic. When all was silent he made his way into the room that had been prepared for Kit. Making his way to the futon she rested on he just stood staring at her for a moment. Her shoulder was bandaged and Megumi had bound her chest so that she could leave that restricting shirt off of her wound. With the shirt missing Kenshin could see the bruises covering her torso.

Almost all of them were the yellowish coloring of the final stages of healing; for which he was glad. Kit groaned quietly and her eyes fluttered open, "Where am I?" she asked her voice drugged with sleep.

"Megumi's Clinic," Kenshin answered tightly. His mind still dwelling on the multiple wounds covering her body… and that he wasn't there to stop it from happening.

Hearing his tone Kit's body tensed and she shot back just as tightly, "What's your problem?"

Kenshin got angry at her lack of concern regarding her own body, "Have you seen yourself lately? Why don't you take a look at yourself right now? Tell me what you see."

Kit stiffened and looked down realizing that too much of her skin was showing, her face paled considerably but she kept her face carefully neutral. "I see nothing out of the ordinary, besides you shouldn't stick your nose where is doesn't belong." Kit stated coldly.

Matching her tone Kenshin answered just as frigidly, "Megumi is worried from what she saw bandaging you." Kenshin paused giving her the chance to say something… anything. Kit remained silent, "How did you get those wounds?"

Kit's neutral façade faltered slightly when her eyes jerked around in panic before she could stop herself. Gathering herself she answered, "I got into a fight. No big mystery, no big deal, as you can plainly see from today I just attract trouble."

Kenshin stared at her dumbfounded by her blatant lie, "Why am I inclined not to believe your story in the slightest?"

"…" Kit's mouth was set in a thin line, a physical sign that she was intent on not cooperating.

Kenshin sighed angrily at Kit's silence, then a thought hit him and he smiled slightly. "If you continue to refuse to answer truthfully or at all I will be forced to allow Yahiko and Sanosuke full reign of all of your belongings."

Kit's jaw dropped, _He wouldn't…would he?_ Kenshin smiled slightly at her expression, _He would… damn it._

Even with the threat looming above her head Kit remained silent. Kenshin was beginning to lose his patience, "I cannot help if you do not tell me what the problem is."

It was said gently, but it was enough to set Kit off. Her mind and body were already worn out from whatever happened in that alley, she couldn't remember anything past the pain in her shoulder, being questioned and threatened just pushed her over the edge of her remaining sliver of sanity. "Why the hell should you care? And why the hell should I trust you to help?!" Kit yelled standing up, ignoring the pain in her shoulder where her tense muscles were straining the stitches, ignoring the way the room tried to spin out of control. The only thing she didn't ignore was when Kenshin got up and put a hand on her shoulder to steady her swaying form.

Kit roughly shrugged off his hand, and also symbolically, his help. Her attitude just made Kenshin angry and soon he screamed out something he really hadn't been ready to reveal yet, "Of course I care about my little sister and wish to help her!"

Kit's face froze and slowly, as the words sank in, she sat back down unable to comprehend what he had said. "…What?" she asked breathlessly.

Kenshin sighed wishing he could take back his carelessly said words, "You're my little sister. Before our parents died you were taken away by a woman, our parents fought to keep you; but she said you weren't safe with us anymore. They reluctantly gave you up so that you could be safe."

Kit didn't know how to respond to this new information, or even whether to believe it or not, so she ignored it for the time being and answered Kenshin's previous question quietly, "…My father…"

Kenshin looked confused at first then realized that she was answering his question. "Your father is the reason for these wounds?" Kenshin asked, his anger growing inside him.

"Yes, some of them anyway… I didn't lie before some are from fights." Kit answered softly looking down at her hands. "He wasn't always like that; two years ago he suddenly changed. Towards me anyway, with other people around he's exactly the same as always. When we're alone… that's when the monster in him comes out. Some of my friends know but all they can do is help me keep it a secret. The night they came to help me he almost turned on them," Kit paused and took a deep breath, remembering that night, "I yelled at him to leave my friends out of it and told them to leave. They wanted to fight against my orders but I guess they realized it would be worse if they were there and they conceded to leave. After they left he threw me down and I hit my back on a table going down, I think I blacked out for a few minutes because when I came to he was gone and my friends had carried me to the couch." She laughed slightly, "I guess they weren't very keen on listening to me that night."

Kenshin sat in silence angry at her father, angry at the woman who took her, and angry at himself that he wasn't there. It didn't matter that he couldn't possibly be there he still felt he should have been.

Megumi walked in on the two sitting quietly lost in their own thoughts or memories and knew that the story had come out, "Who wants tea?" she asked breaking the silence.

Kenshin looked up, "I will have some Miss Megumi, that I will."

Megumi poured him a cup and looked questioningly at Kit. She shook her head, "No thanks, I don't like tea."

Megumi nodded but poured her a cup of hot water anyway, "Drink. Doctor's orders." Kit sighed but smiled slightly and drank the offered water.

After Megumi and Kenshin finished their tea Kenshin and Kit left the clinic and started back to the dojo.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Seven:

Peering around the edge of the opening Kit saw a small boy being thrown around by four older men, they were saying things to him but the words escaped Kit's hearing. They didn't seem as though they were drunk this only managed to add wood to the already smoldering heat of her emotions. Her anger flared up every time those unclean hands touched the crying boy. He couldn't be more then six years old, he couldn't have done anything to deserve what was being done to him at this moment.

One of the men threw him against the wall and that was Kit's breaking point. Steeling her emotions so that her anger wouldn't control her during the fight she knew was to come; Kit stepped to the middle of the alley and slowly started walking down the center of it. Her plated boots making soft clinks as she walked, the men stopped and looked up; either from the sound of her boots or the crackling malevolence that now permeated the air we'll never know.

Her voice deadly calm and void of any emotion, even the anger she was feeling so strongly she spoke, "You do realize you are hurting this boy, correct?" She stared blankly at the man doing the hitting, he was the first one she would deal with, the other three could wait. This man, no not man, this thing was even below contempt.

The man smiled politely, "Are we? I'm sorry I didn't notice, we were just having some fun with our friend." His blatant disregard for what he was doing to the child made Kit's anger spike and a menacing growl escaped from her throat before she could force it back down.

Kit's eyes narrowed and she glared at him coldly, "Well then your intelligence is lower than I originally thought. Or perhaps you are blind, either way I am going to have to ask you to leave." when the four didn't move her anger flared again and she added, "Now!" The word sounded more like a bark than a word.

The four didn't move and one of them looked toward the man that was doing the beating and said, "Mamoru, I think she just gave us an order."

The one next to him chuckled and said snidely, "Does the little princess think that she can order us around like her servants?"

The last one chuckled and couldn't resist adding his own jibe, "Daisuke, I think we should listen to her. We wouldn't want her highness mad at us."

Kit's face broke into a cold smile, "Since it seems that you won't listen to me while I'm being polite. How about I face each of you in one on one combat, if I win I get the boy," she paused, "If you win… you get me."

Mamoru smiled widely, "You think to take us on little girl?" he threw his head back and bellowed a laugh, "You think to take on members of the Touji Yakara Kurumatsu by yourself? I accept your challenge, state your rules."

Kit took her extending pole out of her pocket and held it in her hand hidden from view, her fingers poised to press the release button, "Just the usual, dead or knocked out. And no outside aid, if one of you interferes in another's fight I win by default." Spreading her feet she braced herself for the fight, "You can have one of your friends start the fight."

Mamoru scoffed and motioned for Daisuke to come forward and do the honors, "Ready… Fight!" Daisuke backed away quickly after saying the words.

Kit didn't move waiting for Mamoru to make the first move, he obliged her very quickly. He launched himself at her in a wild barrage of punches; Kit easily dodged each of them without moving from her spot. Right after he took a swing at her she saw her opening and pressed the button. Her pole extended immediately, right into his stomach pushing him back.

He retreated holding his midsection glaring at her; Kit changed her stance to a more defensive position and waited for the next attack. "Is this all you're worth? I know kids who fight better than this. If this is it I'm wasting my time." Kit taunted the man into charging her again, this time she dodged completely, spinning out of his path and then using the pole to hit him in the back of his neck. Mamoru fell to the ground and tried to get back up, but his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, Kit turned to the others, "Who's next?"

The remaining three looked to each other and came to an agreement to break the rules and attack her all at once. _I guess they decided that the boy wasn't worth the trouble. This is troublesome. _Thinking quickly Kit used her boot to kick up dirt from the ground into their faces, they stumbled unable to see and Kit took the opportunity to duck down and spin kick Daisuke's legs out from underneath him and then placing her foot on his windpipe and applying slight pressure.

Daisuke stared up in raw fear at Kit and the unnamed two were rubbing at their eyes. When they could finally see, they didn't move not wanting to force her into doing anything, "If you leave now and take that pathetic man you called Mamoru with you I won't," she pushed her foot a little harder and Daisuke started gasping for air, "crush this man's windpipe." The remaining men look at eachother and nodded their consent. She used her pole to point at Mamoru, "Go pick him up and start leaving, then I will allow your companion up to follow you." They moved too slowly for her tastes so she yelled, "Move it!" she was getting worried about the boy he had stopped crying and hadn't moved since the beginning of the first fight. The men scurried faster and lifted Mamoru's unconscious body onto their shoulder and walked as fast as they could to the end of the alley. Once they were out of sight she turned back to Daisuke placing the tip of her pole on his chest, "If you or any one from your little gang ever come near me or this boy again, I will kill you. And if you even think about trying to attack me when I let you up, you will be dead before you even complete the attack." Kit growled at the scared man, he nodded his head as vigorously as her foot would allow.

Kit stared at him coldly collapsing her pole she put it back in her pocket and took her foot off of Daisuke's throat, she spat on the ground next to him, "Get out of here." He scrambled up and ran out of the alley without looking back. Kit sighed and walked over to the boy praying he wasn't dead.

Kit kneeled next to him and placed her fingers on his neck, his pulse beat strongly under her fingertips. She smiled in relief, placing her ear next to his nose she hear a slight wheezing sound as he breathed. He probably bruised or broken some ribs. His arm was contorted in an odd angle and Kit knew she would have to set and splint it. Kit pulled out a small box that she almost always carried around, inside it held bandages, a few gauze pads, Neosporin and a small bottle of peroxide.

Taking out one roll of bandages Kit whispered, "I'm sorry." And snapped his arm back into place, his unconscious body convulsed and Kit cringed. Using her pole as a splint she wrapped the bandages around the arm in a makeshift cast. She cleaned all of his cuts and put Neosporin and band aids on the larger ones, he was going to be sore for a long while but he was alive and that was something to be thankful for.

Kit had done all she could and was reluctant to bring him to Megumi's clinic for two reasons, she didn't want him waking up without any explanation and second she hadn't the slightest idea how to get there.

She eased the boy onto her back, piggyback style and walked out of the alley. She continued walking down the way she was heading before she had heard the boy. She was right on the outskirts of the town and to her immense joy there was a horse stable in sight. If not for the boy on her back she would have sprinted to it. As it was Kit walked slowly to the barn and called out, "Is anyone here?" when she was answered with silence she walked to the house.

She assumed the house was the owners'; Kit knocked on the door and waited. The boy had started to slip off her back so she as gently as she could bump him back up. A few minutes later a woman in her mid thirties opened the door, and she almost closed it again but caught herself and forced a fearful smile at her. "Hello." She said timidly.

Kit smiled and the woman seemed to relax a little, "Hello my name is Kit and I was wondering if you needed any stable hands."

The woman relaxed completely upon hearing Kit's voice, "Welcome, my name is Sora. My husband owns those stables come in and I'll take you to him," she smiled and motioned Kit inside. As Kit walked past her she noticed the boy on Kit's back, "Oh dear child! What happened?!"

"I'm not exactly sure, but some men calling themselves members of the Touji Yakara Kurumatsu were hurting this boy in an alley." Kit left out that she defeated them in combat and chased them off; she didn't want to scare the woman.

She gasped, "This boy is lucky to be alive if that's the case, come come we'll set him up in one of the spare room while you meet with my husband." She brushed back some of the shoulder length hair covering his eyes, "You poor boy," she whispered.

Kit followed Sora through the house and into one of the rooms lining the hallway they turned down. There was a futon set up in the corner of the room and Sora motioned for Kit to place the boy there.

She nodded and slowly eased him off her back and onto the bed with Sora's help. Once he was down Kit kneeled next to the bed and tucked the white blanket around him in a motherly fashion. She then stood up and faced Sora, "Okay, I don't suspect he will be waking up anytime soon so let's go meet with your husband."

Sora threw a glance at the boy, "Follow me, once I set you up with my husband I'll come back and clean him up a bit." She spoke as she walked into another hallway and stopped at the door.

Kit placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you."

Sora smiled and knocked on the door, there was a muffled 'come in' in response. The two women walked into the study and there was a man with short black hair and a kind face sitting at the western style desk. He smiled at his wife and greeted Kit with, "Hello."

Kit responded in kind, Sora then took charge and stated their reason for being there, "Lantis, this girl is here looking for work." Kit not knowing exactly what was appropriate leaned forward in a slight bow.

He seemed to size her up with his gaze before he spoke, "What is your name?"

Kit stood up straight, "My name is Kit."

Lantis stood up and walked to the front of the desk, "Have you previous experience with horses?"

Kit smirked slightly, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

He laughed, a deep rumble coming from his chest, "I see. Follow me to the barn and we'll see what you can do young lady." Kit followed him out of the house and into the barn, most of the horses stuck their heads out and whinnied a greeting to their owner. "Pick out a horse to brush and tack, and I would like to see how well you ride."

Kit nodded and slowly started walking down the aisle, she noticed that not all of the 14 stalls were used, there were a total of ten horses in the barn. The first stall on her left housed a dapple grey mare, she had a short black mane and tail and she stood about 5' 2" her name plate said Jewel. The first stall on her right housed a white stallion whose mane and tail were of a light grey coloring, he stood at around 5' 4" his name plate named him as Spirit. The second horse on the left was a small golden stallion his mane and tail glowed ivory and he stood at only 5'. He was small but his well developed muscles moved under his skin and Kit got the feeling that he was a fast runner; his plate named him as Sun Chaser. The second one the right was a brown and white paint she had a black mane and tail and stood even shorter than Sun Chaser by an inch, her name was Maruka. The third stall on the left held a light chestnut filly, her mane was light brown and her short tail was the same. She stood at 4' 7", but she was a baby, probably only around three or four years old, she still had growing to do; her name was Kiki. The third horse on the right was a flea bitten grey colt; his mane and short tail were white. He was slightly taller than Kiki, they were probably about the same age, and his name is Raoul. The fourth horse on the left was a dark brown filly, her short fuzzy mane and stub of a tail were black she stood at about 3'. She couldn't be more then two years old at most. Her name plate said Kimiko. The fourth stall on the right housed a dark brown mare with white mane and tail, she stood at a nice 5' 6"; her name was Moonlight. The fifth horse on the left was a dark grey colt he had a black fuzzy mane and stubby tail, he stood an inch taller than Kimiko and was probably the same age. His name was Karasu.

The last one was the one though; he was the one who caught Kit's interest. He was one of the only ones who didn't have his head over the door. He was midnight black through and through; his flowing mane and tail were as black as a moonless, starless night. His coat looked like silk cloth and his mane and tail looked like silk thread. Kit turned to Lantis grinning, "I'll use this one, Darkness Flame." His head didn't move but his blood red eyes stared at her out the corner of the sockets.

Lantis looked taken aback, "Kit… I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I just got him a few weeks ago, no one has been able to get near him without being attacked."

Kit's eyes glistened in challenge and Lantis knew that look, he'd seen it many times during the war. "I'm still choosing him." Lantis shook his head, but didn't say anything knowing it was pointless. He walked to the front of the stall to watch how she handled the horse.

She walked to the door and unbolted it slowly, and opened it the same way; cautiously she walked into the stall. Staying close to the door in case he really did prove to be too dangerous, she held her hand out to the stallion. His wild eyes focused on the hand before moving up to stare Kit straight in the eyes. They stayed like this for a minute and when he realized she wasn't leaving he started doing small half rears to scare her off, Kit remained still and unmoving. Angry that he couldn't scare her off the horse snapped out his neck and tried to bite her hand, anticipating this move Kit waited until he was close enough and gently but firmly smacked his nose.

Darkness Flame snorted loudly and threw his head up in shock backing up as he did so, calming down he lunged at her hand again, Kit did the same thing. They repeated this process four times before the horse started to calm down, he seemed to accept her and in show of this acceptance he slowly walked forward and pushed his velvet soft nose against her hand. Giving her permission to pet him, Kit smiled and rubbed his forehead before moving to his side and running her hands down his legs to make sure he didn't hurt himself in his show.

After feeling that each tendon was cool and firm Kit walked out of the stall to grab his halter and lead rope from their hook on the door. Kit laughed at the look on Lantis' face; he looked as though his mouth could catch flies. Her laughter seemed to bring him out of his amazement induced shock.

Walking back to Darkness Flame she slipped the halter over his head and buckled the latch. He shook his head and snorted as if to say he didn't like it. Kit laughed at his antics and rubbed his forehead. Leading him out of the stall she tied him onto the crossties and proceeded to start using the curry comb to loosen and knock the dirt and bedding out of this smooth coat. After that she used a soft bristled brush to smooth the hair back into place, lastly she used a metal pick to pick the mud and bedding out of his hooves.

She looked him in the eye and said, "Stay here." Kit walked into the tack room and found all of the horses bridles labeled nicely; she grabbed the one under the label 'Darkness Flame' and picked out a saddle and girth that she thought would fit him. Walking back to the horse she saw him standing exactly where she had left him. She rubbed his head again saying, "Good boy."

Tacking him up went relatively well; he took everything but the tightening of the girth without complaint. When she made the girth tighter he turned his head and glared at her, Kit laughed but apologized to the ruffled horse. All while Lantis was watching in awe how she handled the horse and at her obvious skill with the basics of horse care. When Kit stood back so he could inspect the work he already knew he wouldn't find any flaws but went through the motions anyway. Darkness Flame didn't like Lantis touching him; the horse was glaring and baring his teeth. Only Kit's warning stare saved Lantis from being bitten. Lantis cleared his throat nervously, "Very well done. Your handling of the horse is beyond my expectations and your skills are impeccable. Finally the hard part, how well can you ride?"

Kit smirked, "Well enough." She led Darkness Flame out to the ring in front of the barn and used the fence to mount him. He was fidgeting nervously at being unable to see her anymore; Kit reassured him that she was still there by talking to him and petting his neck. He calmed down and she let him walk around a lap to get used to her on his back and for her to get used to his strides. Once they reached where Lantis was sitting on the fence she urged him into a trot, keeping that pace for six laps going counter clockwise. After the sixth lap she turned him around and did the same thing going clockwise.

She paused at Lantis after the sixth lap, "No complaints so far, you can kick it up a notch now." He said.

Kit nodded and used her outside leg to apply pressure to Darkness Flame's side, he understood the cue and picked up a steady canter. He was eagerly pulling at the reigns wanting to go faster, Kit held him steady for the six laps and then made him do a flying lead change and go in the other direction.

Kit stopped him on the opposite side of the ring from where Lantis was sitting; she leaned up and whispered something into Darkness Flame's ear. His ears perked up and he started prancing eagerly, Kit grinned and eased him into a canter aiming him at the fence next to Lantis. She sat back in the saddled and kept a firm grip on the reigns keeping the horse from running out at the fence. Each push of his powerful legs brought them one stride closer to the fence when they were one stride away Kit squeezed Darkness Flame's sides and he gave a huge push with his hind legs and cleared them both over the three foot fence and smoothly cantering away on the other side.

Kit let him canter around the yard for a minute before slowing him down to a walk and walking over to Lantis who was trying to catch flies again. She grinned at him and asked, "So… do I get the job?"

Lantis could only nod his brown eyes still wide in awe. Kit let out a whoop of joy and let Darkness Flame gallop around the ring twice before walking him out for ten minutes to cool him down.

Once he was cooled down enough for Kit's satisfaction she dismounted by Lantis, "I'll be in the house when you finish putting Darkness Flame away. Meet me in my study and I'll explain to you your duties." Kit nodded and watched him walk away before throwing her arms around Darkness Flame's neck and hugging him. The horse curled his neck around her in a hug of his own. Leading him back into the barn she untacked and brushed him down before hugging him goodbye and putting him back in his stall. All the while he was prancing around like a colt making Kit laugh at the change in his demeanor. Looking closely at his plague she saw that under 'Darkness Flame' the word 'Yami' was written. Kit assumed that was his nickname and said it quietly, "Yami…" Darkness Flame or rather Yami answered with a soft whinny.

Kit walked into his study where Sora had laid out a cup of water for her and tea for her husband. Lantis was back to sitting behind his desk, "Your duties start at dawn, you will need to muck out the stalls, feed the horses their morning meal and fill their water buckets, after that I will post what horses I want you to exercise or train on a day by day basis."

Kit nodded in understanding, "Yes sir. I will see you tomorrow, I should start heading home now." Kit said standing up, she bowed to Lantis, "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." She walked out and Lantis called his goodbyes.

Walking back to the room that housed the sleeping boy she found Sora kneeling next to him with a dirty rag and bowl of dirty water. She had washed all the dirt off of his skin while Lantis and Kit were out in the stables. Kneeling next to her Kit asked, "Any changes?"

Sora sadly shook her head, "No, he's been sleeping this whole time."

Kit sighed dejectedly, "Okay, will you help me get him on my back?"

"Of course" Together the two women eased the small boy onto Kit's back and she stood up and left their house walking back down the road where shop keepers were closing shop and vendors were packing up their wares for the day. The sun was slowly sinking down behind the mountains that she could see in the west.

Kit had just turned down the road that she remembered Kenshin and the group turning down before she left them, when she felt the boy start to stir on her back. Kit sat down next to a nearby cherry blossom tree and leaned him against it so she could move away.

The boys eyes slowly opened to reveal a pale blue coloring, he seemed to remember where he was when he passed out and sat up quickly in a panic only to hiss in pain from his ribs. Kit stuck her hand out and slowly pushed him back to leaning on the tree. His eyes followed the hand, up her arm, to her face fearfully. "Who… who are you?" he asked timidly.

"I'm Kit, don't be scared. Those men won't come near you again. I promise. What is your name?" Kit asked keeping her voice quiet in an attempt to keep him calm and ease his fear.

He was quiet for a few seconds and Kit wasn't sure he was going to answer but then he softly answered, "Keitaro."

Kit knew that her next question was going to be a touchy subject most likely but she had to ask, "Keitaro… where are your parents?"

Keitaro got quiet and looked down at his bandaged hand, this time he was quiet for a full two minutes before he answered, "They died last month…Those men take me in…" Tears welled up in his eyes at the statements.

She listened and decided there wasn't any chance that she was going to let him go anywhere near those men again. Pulling him into a gentle hug she let him cry into her shirt while she rubbed soothing circles on his small back. When he calmed down some she pulled back from him and tilted his head up with her hand to look him in the eye, "If you like, you can come home with me." She said this while using part of her shirt to dry his face.

Keitaro's head bowed in a nod and he hugged her again, Kit hugged back before picking him onto her hip. He held on gingerly with one arm and they continued the trek back to the dojo where Kit was fully aware she was probably going to get lectured about running off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Peering around the edge of the opening Kit saw a small boy being thrown around by four older men, they were saying things to him but the words escaped Kit's hearing. They didn't seem as though they were drunk this only managed to add wood to the already smoldering heat of her emotions. Her anger flared up every time those unclean hands touched the crying boy. He couldn't be more then six years old, he couldn't have done anything to deserve what was being done to him at this moment.

One of the men threw him against the wall and that was Kit's breaking point. Steeling her emotions so that her anger wouldn't control her during the fight she knew was to come; Kit stepped to the middle of the alley and slowly started walking down the center of it. Her plated boots making soft clinks as she walked, the men stopped and looked up; either from the sound of her boots or the crackling malevolence that now permeated the air we'll never know.

Her voice deadly calm and void of any emotion, even the anger she was feeling so strongly she spoke, "You do realize you are hurting this boy, correct?" She stared blankly at the man doing the hitting, he was the first one she would deal with, the other three could wait. This man, no not man, this thing was even below contempt.

The man smiled politely, "Are we? I'm sorry I didn't notice, we were just having some fun with our friend." His blatant disregard for what he was doing to the child made Kit's anger spike and a menacing growl escaped from her throat before she could force it back down.

Kit's eyes narrowed and she glared at him coldly, "Well then your intelligence is lower than I originally thought. Or perhaps you are blind, either way I am going to have to ask you to leave." when the four didn't move her anger flared again and she added, "Now!" The word sounded more like a bark than a word.

The four didn't move and one of them looked toward the man that was doing the beating and said, "Mamoru, I think she just gave us an order."

The one next to him chuckled and said snidely, "Does the little princess think that she can order us around like her servants?"

The last one chuckled and couldn't resist adding his own jibe, "Daisuke, I think we should listen to her. We wouldn't want her highness mad at us."

Kit's face broke into a cold smile, "Since it seems that you won't listen to me while I'm being polite. How about I face each of you in one on one combat, if I win I get the boy," she paused, "If you win… you get me."

Mamoru smiled widely, "You think to take us on little girl?" he threw his head back and bellowed a laugh, "You think to take on members of the Touji Yakara Kurumatsu by yourself? I accept your challenge, state your rules."

Kit took her extending pole out of her pocket and held it in her hand hidden from view, her fingers poised to press the release button, "Just the usual, dead or knocked out. And no outside aid, if one of you interferes in another's fight I win by default." Spreading her feet she braced herself for the fight, "You can have one of your friends start the fight."

Mamoru scoffed and motioned for Daisuke to come forward and do the honors, "Ready… Fight!" Daisuke backed away quickly after saying the words.

Kit didn't move waiting for Mamoru to make the first move, he obliged her very quickly. He launched himself at her in a wild barrage of punches; Kit easily dodged each of them without moving from her spot. Right after he took a swing at her she saw her opening and pressed the button. Her pole extended immediately, right into his stomach pushing him back.

He retreated holding his midsection glaring at her; Kit changed her stance to a more defensive position and waited for the next attack. "Is this all you're worth? I know kids who fight better than this. If this is it I'm wasting my time." Kit taunted the man into charging her again, this time she dodged completely, spinning out of his path and then using the pole to hit him in the back of his neck. Mamoru fell to the ground and tried to get back up, but his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, Kit turned to the others, "Who's next?"

The remaining three looked to each other and came to an agreement to break the rules and attack her all at once. _I guess they decided that the boy wasn't worth the trouble. This is troublesome. _Thinking quickly Kit used her boot to kick up dirt from the ground into their faces, they stumbled unable to see and Kit took the opportunity to duck down and spin kick Daisuke's legs out from underneath him and then placing her foot on his windpipe and applying slight pressure.

Daisuke stared up in raw fear at Kit and the unnamed two were rubbing at their eyes. When they could finally see, they didn't move not wanting to force her into doing anything, "If you leave now and take that pathetic man you called Mamoru with you I won't," she pushed her foot a little harder and Daisuke started gasping for air, "crush this man's windpipe." The remaining men look at eachother and nodded their consent. She used her pole to point at Mamoru, "Go pick him up and start leaving, then I will allow your companion up to follow you." They moved too slowly for her tastes so she yelled, "Move it!" she was getting worried about the boy he had stopped crying and hadn't moved since the beginning of the first fight. The men scurried faster and lifted Mamoru's unconscious body onto their shoulder and walked as fast as they could to the end of the alley. Once they were out of sight she turned back to Daisuke placing the tip of her pole on his chest, "If you or any one from your little gang ever come near me or this boy again, I will kill you. And if you even think about trying to attack me when I let you up, you will be dead before you even complete the attack." Kit growled at the scared man, he nodded his head as vigorously as her foot would allow.

Kit stared at him coldly collapsing her pole she put it back in her pocket and took her foot off of Daisuke's throat, she spat on the ground next to him, "Get out of here." He scrambled up and ran out of the alley without looking back. Kit sighed and walked over to the boy praying he wasn't dead.

Kit kneeled next to him and placed her fingers on his neck, his pulse beat strongly under her fingertips. She smiled in relief, placing her ear next to his nose she hear a slight wheezing sound as he breathed. He probably bruised or broken some ribs. His arm was contorted in an odd angle and Kit knew she would have to set and splint it. Kit pulled out a small box that she almost always carried around, inside it held bandages, a few gauze pads, Neosporin and a small bottle of peroxide.

Taking out one roll of bandages Kit whispered, "I'm sorry." And snapped his arm back into place, his unconscious body convulsed and Kit cringed. Using her pole as a splint she wrapped the bandages around the arm in a makeshift cast. She cleaned all of his cuts and put Neosporin and band aids on the larger ones, he was going to be sore for a long while but he was alive and that was something to be thankful for.

Kit had done all she could and was reluctant to bring him to Megumi's clinic for two reasons, she didn't want him waking up without any explanation and second she hadn't the slightest idea how to get there.

She eased the boy onto her back, piggyback style and walked out of the alley. She continued walking down the way she was heading before she had heard the boy. She was right on the outskirts of the town and to her immense joy there was a horse stable in sight. If not for the boy on her back she would have sprinted to it. As it was Kit walked slowly to the barn and called out, "Is anyone here?" when she was answered with silence she walked to the house.

She assumed the house was the owners'; Kit knocked on the door and waited. The boy had started to slip off her back so she as gently as she could bump him back up. A few minutes later a woman in her mid thirties opened the door, and she almost closed it again but caught herself and forced a fearful smile at her. "Hello." She said timidly.

Kit smiled and the woman seemed to relax a little, "Hello my name is Kit and I was wondering if you needed any stable hands."

The woman relaxed completely upon hearing Kit's voice, "Welcome, my name is Sora. My husband owns those stables come in and I'll take you to him," she smiled and motioned Kit inside. As Kit walked past her she noticed the boy on Kit's back, "Oh dear child! What happened?!"

"I'm not exactly sure, but some men calling themselves members of the Touji Yakara Kurumatsu were hurting this boy in an alley." Kit left out that she defeated them in combat and chased them off; she didn't want to scare the woman.

She gasped, "This boy is lucky to be alive if that's the case, come come we'll set him up in one of the spare room while you meet with my husband." She brushed back some of the shoulder length hair covering his eyes, "You poor boy," she whispered.

Kit followed Sora through the house and into one of the rooms lining the hallway they turned down. There was a futon set up in the corner of the room and Sora motioned for Kit to place the boy there.

She nodded and slowly eased him off her back and onto the bed with Sora's help. Once he was down Kit kneeled next to the bed and tucked the white blanket around him in a motherly fashion. She then stood up and faced Sora, "Okay, I don't suspect he will be waking up anytime soon so let's go meet with your husband."

Sora threw a glance at the boy, "Follow me, once I set you up with my husband I'll come back and clean him up a bit." She spoke as she walked into another hallway and stopped at the door.

Kit placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you."

Sora smiled and knocked on the door, there was a muffled 'come in' in response. The two women walked into the study and there was a man with short black hair and a kind face sitting at the western style desk. He smiled at his wife and greeted Kit with, "Hello."

Kit responded in kind, Sora then took charge and stated their reason for being there, "Lantis, this girl is here looking for work." Kit not knowing exactly what was appropriate leaned forward in a slight bow.

He seemed to size her up with his gaze before he spoke, "What is your name?"

Kit stood up straight, "My name is Kit."

Lantis stood up and walked to the front of the desk, "Have you previous experience with horses?"

Kit smirked slightly, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

He laughed, a deep rumble coming from his chest, "I see. Follow me to the barn and we'll see what you can do young lady." Kit followed him out of the house and into the barn, most of the horses stuck their heads out and whinnied a greeting to their owner. "Pick out a horse to brush and tack, and I would like to see how well you ride."

Kit nodded and slowly started walking down the aisle, she noticed that not all of the 14 stalls were used, there were a total of ten horses in the barn. The first stall on her left housed a dapple grey mare, she had a short black mane and tail and she stood about 5' 2" her name plate said Jewel. The first stall on her right housed a white stallion whose mane and tail were of a light grey coloring, he stood at around 5' 4" his name plate named him as Spirit. The second horse on the left was a small golden stallion his mane and tail glowed ivory and he stood at only 5'. He was small but his well developed muscles moved under his skin and Kit got the feeling that he was a fast runner; his plate named him as Sun Chaser. The second one the right was a brown and white paint she had a black mane and tail and stood even shorter than Sun Chaser by an inch, her name was Maruka. The third stall on the left held a light chestnut filly, her mane was light brown and her short tail was the same. She stood at 4' 7", but she was a baby, probably only around three or four years old, she still had growing to do; her name was Kiki. The third horse on the right was a flea bitten grey colt; his mane and short tail were white. He was slightly taller than Kiki, they were probably about the same age, and his name is Raoul. The fourth horse on the left was a dark brown filly, her short fuzzy mane and stub of a tail were black she stood at about 3'. She couldn't be more then two years old at most. Her name plate said Kimiko. The fourth stall on the right housed a dark brown mare with white mane and tail, she stood at a nice 5' 6"; her name was Moonlight. The fifth horse on the left was a dark grey colt he had a black fuzzy mane and stubby tail, he stood an inch taller than Kimiko and was probably the same age. His name was Karasu.

The last one was the one though; he was the one who caught Kit's interest. He was one of the only ones who didn't have his head over the door. He was midnight black through and through; his flowing mane and tail were as black as a moonless, starless night. His coat looked like silk cloth and his mane and tail looked like silk thread. Kit turned to Lantis grinning, "I'll use this one, Darkness Flame." His head didn't move but his blood red eyes stared at her out the corner of the sockets.

Lantis looked taken aback, "Kit… I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I just got him a few weeks ago, no one has been able to get near him without being attacked."

Kit's eyes glistened in challenge and Lantis knew that look, he'd seen it many times during the war. "I'm still choosing him." Lantis shook his head, but didn't say anything knowing it was pointless. He walked to the front of the stall to watch how she handled the horse.

She walked to the door and unbolted it slowly, and opened it the same way; cautiously she walked into the stall. Staying close to the door in case he really did prove to be too dangerous, she held her hand out to the stallion. His wild eyes focused on the hand before moving up to stare Kit straight in the eyes. They stayed like this for a minute and when he realized she wasn't leaving he started doing small half rears to scare her off, Kit remained still and unmoving. Angry that he couldn't scare her off the horse snapped out his neck and tried to bite her hand, anticipating this move Kit waited until he was close enough and gently but firmly smacked his nose.

Darkness Flame snorted loudly and threw his head up in shock backing up as he did so, calming down he lunged at her hand again, Kit did the same thing. They repeated this process four times before the horse started to calm down, he seemed to accept her and in show of this acceptance he slowly walked forward and pushed his velvet soft nose against her hand. Giving her permission to pet him, Kit smiled and rubbed his forehead before moving to his side and running her hands down his legs to make sure he didn't hurt himself in his show.

After feeling that each tendon was cool and firm Kit walked out of the stall to grab his halter and lead rope from their hook on the door. Kit laughed at the look on Lantis' face; he looked as though his mouth could catch flies. Her laughter seemed to bring him out of his amazement induced shock.

Walking back to Darkness Flame she slipped the halter over his head and buckled the latch. He shook his head and snorted as if to say he didn't like it. Kit laughed at his antics and rubbed his forehead. Leading him out of the stall she tied him onto the crossties and proceeded to start using the curry comb to loosen and knock the dirt and bedding out of this smooth coat. After that she used a soft bristled brush to smooth the hair back into place, lastly she used a metal pick to pick the mud and bedding out of his hooves.

She looked him in the eye and said, "Stay here." Kit walked into the tack room and found all of the horses bridles labeled nicely; she grabbed the one under the label 'Darkness Flame' and picked out a saddle and girth that she thought would fit him. Walking back to the horse she saw him standing exactly where she had left him. She rubbed his head again saying, "Good boy."

Tacking him up went relatively well; he took everything but the tightening of the girth without complaint. When she made the girth tighter he turned his head and glared at her, Kit laughed but apologized to the ruffled horse. All while Lantis was watching in awe how she handled the horse and at her obvious skill with the basics of horse care. When Kit stood back so he could inspect the work he already knew he wouldn't find any flaws but went through the motions anyway. Darkness Flame didn't like Lantis touching him; the horse was glaring and baring his teeth. Only Kit's warning stare saved Lantis from being bitten. Lantis cleared his throat nervously, "Very well done. Your handling of the horse is beyond my expectations and your skills are impeccable. Finally the hard part, how well can you ride?"

Kit smirked, "Well enough." She led Darkness Flame out to the ring in front of the barn and used the fence to mount him. He was fidgeting nervously at being unable to see her anymore; Kit reassured him that she was still there by talking to him and petting his neck. He calmed down and she let him walk around a lap to get used to her on his back and for her to get used to his strides. Once they reached where Lantis was sitting on the fence she urged him into a trot, keeping that pace for six laps going counter clockwise. After the sixth lap she turned him around and did the same thing going clockwise.

She paused at Lantis after the sixth lap, "No complaints so far, you can kick it up a notch now." He said.

Kit nodded and used her outside leg to apply pressure to Darkness Flame's side, he understood the cue and picked up a steady canter. He was eagerly pulling at the reigns wanting to go faster, Kit held him steady for the six laps and then made him do a flying lead change and go in the other direction.

Kit stopped him on the opposite side of the ring from where Lantis was sitting; she leaned up and whispered something into Darkness Flame's ear. His ears perked up and he started prancing eagerly, Kit grinned and eased him into a canter aiming him at the fence next to Lantis. She sat back in the saddled and kept a firm grip on the reigns keeping the horse from running out at the fence. Each push of his powerful legs brought them one stride closer to the fence when they were one stride away Kit squeezed Darkness Flame's sides and he gave a huge push with his hind legs and cleared them both over the three foot fence and smoothly cantering away on the other side.

Kit let him canter around the yard for a minute before slowing him down to a walk and walking over to Lantis who was trying to catch flies again. She grinned at him and asked, "So… do I get the job?"

Lantis could only nod his brown eyes still wide in awe. Kit let out a whoop of joy and let Darkness Flame gallop around the ring twice before walking him out for ten minutes to cool him down.

Once he was cooled down enough for Kit's satisfaction she dismounted by Lantis, "I'll be in the house when you finish putting Darkness Flame away. Meet me in my study and I'll explain to you your duties." Kit nodded and watched him walk away before throwing her arms around Darkness Flame's neck and hugging him. The horse curled his neck around her in a hug of his own. Leading him back into the barn she untacked and brushed him down before hugging him goodbye and putting him back in his stall. All the while he was prancing around like a colt making Kit laugh at the change in his demeanor. Looking closely at his plague she saw that under 'Darkness Flame' the word 'Yami' was written. Kit assumed that was his nickname and said it quietly, "Yami…" Darkness Flame or rather Yami answered with a soft whinny.

Kit walked into his study where Sora had laid out a cup of water for her and tea for her husband. Lantis was back to sitting behind his desk, "Your duties start at dawn, you will need to muck out the stalls, feed the horses their morning meal and fill their water buckets, after that I will post what horses I want you to exercise or train on a day by day basis."

Kit nodded in understanding, "Yes sir. I will see you tomorrow, I should start heading home now." Kit said standing up, she bowed to Lantis, "I'll see you tomorrow bright and early." She walked out and Lantis called his goodbyes.

Walking back to the room that housed the sleeping boy she found Sora kneeling next to him with a dirty rag and bowl of dirty water. She had washed all the dirt off of his skin while Lantis and Kit were out in the stables. Kneeling next to her Kit asked, "Any changes?"

Sora sadly shook her head, "No, he's been sleeping this whole time."

Kit sighed dejectedly, "Okay, will you help me get him on my back?"

"Of course" Together the two women eased the small boy onto Kit's back and she stood up and left their house walking back down the road where shop keepers were closing shop and vendors were packing up their wares for the day. The sun was slowly sinking down behind the mountains that she could see in the west.

Kit had just turned down the road that she remembered Kenshin and the group turning down before she left them, when she felt the boy start to stir on her back. Kit sat down next to a nearby cherry blossom tree and leaned him against it so she could move away.

The boys eyes slowly opened to reveal a pale blue coloring, he seemed to remember where he was when he passed out and sat up quickly in a panic only to hiss in pain from his ribs. Kit stuck her hand out and slowly pushed him back to leaning on the tree. His eyes followed the hand, up her arm, to her face fearfully. "Who… who are you?" he asked timidly.

"I'm Kit, don't be scared. Those men won't come near you again. I promise. What is your name?" Kit asked keeping her voice quiet in an attempt to keep him calm and ease his fear.

He was quiet for a few seconds and Kit wasn't sure he was going to answer but then he softly answered, "Keitaro."

Kit knew that her next question was going to be a touchy subject most likely but she had to ask, "Keitaro… where are your parents?"

Keitaro got quiet and looked down at his bandaged hand, this time he was quiet for a full two minutes before he answered, "They died last month…Those men take me in…" Tears welled up in his eyes at the statements.

She listened and decided there wasn't any chance that she was going to let him go anywhere near those men again. Pulling him into a gentle hug she let him cry into her shirt while she rubbed soothing circles on his small back. When he calmed down some she pulled back from him and tilted his head up with her hand to look him in the eye, "If you like, you can come home with me." She said this while using part of her shirt to dry his face.

Keitaro's head bowed in a nod and he hugged her again, Kit hugged back before picking him onto her hip. He held on gingerly with one arm and they continued the trek back to the dojo where Kit was fully aware she was probably going to get lectured about running off.


End file.
